Evaluation of SCION for User-driven Path Control a Usability Study

The UPIN (User-driven Path verification and control in Inter-domain Networks) project aims to implement a way for users of a network to control how their data is traversing it. In this paper we investigate the possibilities and limitations of SCION for user-driven path control. Exploring several aspects of the performance of a SCION network allows us to define the most efficient path to assign to a user, following specific requests. We extensively analyze multiple paths, specifically focusing on latency, bandwidth and data loss, in SCIONLab, an experimental testbed and implementation of a SCION network. We gather data on these paths and store it in a database, that we then query to select the best path to give to a user to reach a destination, following their request on performance or devices to exclude for geographical or sovereignty reasons. Results indicate our software is a viable option to offer users many paths to choose from, following a series of requests, and therefore perform user-driven path control in a SCION network.