RSPSIM (Reliable Server Pooling Simulation) is the Open Source simulation model of the IETF Reliable Server Pooling (RSerPool) architecture, a novel framework for pool and session management. The Reliable Server Pooling (RSerPool) architecture (defined by RFC 5351 to RFC 5356) is an overlay network framework to provide server replication and session failover capabilities to its applications. Server redundancy leads to load distribution and load balancing, which are also covered by RSerPool. But in strong contrast to other solutions in the area of cloud and high-performance computing, the fundamental property of RSerPool is to be “lightweight”, i.e. it can also be used on devices providing only meagre memory and CPU resources (e.g. embedded systems like telecommunications equipment or routers).

A detailed introduction to the model can be found in T. Dreibholz, “Reliable Server Pooling – Evaluation, Optimization and Extension of a Novel IETF Architecture”.

RSPSIM had originally been started as a project at the Institute for Experimental Mathematics of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany. It is now maintained at the Simula Research Laboratory in Oslo, Norway.

Author: Thomas Dreibholz, Simula Research Laboratory