OpenNetInf - prototyping an information-centric Network Architecture

Information-centric networking (ICN) has evolved as important option for a future Internet architecture. Prototyping such an architecture is important to gain valuable insights about its feasibility. We have developed a prototype of the Network of Information (NetInf) architecture called OpenNetInf and have tested the architecture with a wide variety of applications. We have also performed traffic measurements to evaluate the influence of caching and our Multi-Level Distributed Hash Table (MDHT) name resolution service on inter-domain traffic. The measurements show a decrease in inter-domain traffic by a factor of up to 4 in our test scenario. The prototyping experience has validated the general feasibility of the NetInf architecture. The gained insights have had and will have significant impact on future NetInf architecture iterations.