Subject

The main objective of this thesis is to design, implement and study the performance of a multicast protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (LLNs) over using Rust.

Kind of work

The specific goals include:
* In depth study of existing multicast protocols to understand their design principles, advantages and limitations. Example of multicast
protocols: Multicast Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (MPL), Stateless Multicast Forwarding with RPL in 6LowPAN Sensor Networks (SMRF),
Enhanced Stateless Multicast RPL Forwarding for IPv6-Based Low-Power and Lossy Networks (ESMRF)
* Design/optimisation of a multicast protocol over TSCH/CSMA
* Implementation of the designed multicast protocol in Rust
* Evaluation of the performance of the implemented multicast protocol through simulation experiments
* Deployment of the multicast protocol on a real testbed to evaluate its performance in a practical setting
* The Rust implementation of the multicast protocol will be compared to an implementation in C in terms of performance.

Framework of the Thesis

Vlaio TETRA project Rustiec and PhD work Diana Deac and Thibaut Vandervelden with more than 14 companies following the advantages of programming in Rust. The smartnets group does active research in optimisation of multicast protocols.

Teshome, E. Deac, D. Thielemans, S. Carlier, M. Steenhaut, K. Braeken, A. Dobrota, V. Time Slotted Channel Hopping and ContikiMAC for IPv6 Multicast-Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks. Sensors 2021, 21, 1771

G. Gastón Lorente, B. Lemmens, M. Carlier, A. Braeken, K. Steenhaut BMRF: bidirectional multicast RPL forwarding Ad Hoc Netw., 54 (2017), pp. 69-84

Deac, D. Teshome, E. Van Glabbeek, R. Dobrota, V. Braeken, A. Steenhaut, K. Traffic Aware Scheduler for Time-Slotted Channel-Hopping-Based IPv6 Wireless Sensor Networks. Sensors 2022, 22, 6397.

Number of Students

2

Expected Student Profile

Programming Skills: The student should have an understanding of Rust's syntax, concepts, and best practices, or should be eager to learn Rust.
Networking Knowledge: The student should become familiar with multicast protocols and their characteristics. Knowledge of protocols such as the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is advantageous.
Operating Systems and Embedded Systems: The student should become familiar with operating systems designed for LLNs, such as Contiki-NG, and embedded systems.
Simulation Tools: Experience with simulation tools like Cooja, which is commonly used with Contik-NG, would be valuable. The student should be comfortable setting up simulations, configuring network parameters, and analyzing simulation results to evaluate protocol performance.