BlueFall, a swarming protocols testbed: project, use and results

The server-client model, which represents the pivot of the greatest part of the networks, starts to waver when the number of active connections to a single server grows in an exponential way. In this context, if the same resource is needed by a group of clients, a possible solution could be that of heaving one of the clients retrieving the resource and then sharing it among the group: the way in which the resource is distributed in the group is called swarming protocol. The research on new swarming protocols generally shows results obtained through simulations: these results could be far from the real performance of the protocols, but tests in a real environment are usually complex and expensive. The software described in this document allows to test swarming protocols in a real environment using wireless short-range protocols which are available in off-the-shelf devices, like mobile phones and laptops. 1