.. _ARA_Sandbox_Service:

ARA Sandbox Service
===================================================

Beside the outdoor deployment as specified in
:ref:`ARA_Resource_Specification`, ARA provides a sandbox environment
for users to test their experiments in a controlled lab setting. The
sandbox is equipped with 50 USRP B210s and 3 USRP X310s, deployed on
panels mounted just below the room ceiling (topology shown in the
figure below). Each SDR host computer (001–025) is connected to two
SDRs via USB 3.0 cables; thus, reserving one node provides access to
two SDRs. The corresponding SDR serial numbers are indicated within
each SDR. In contrast, SDR host computers (026–028) are each connected
to a single X310, meaning that reserving one of these nodes provides
access to one X310. Additionally, the host computers are connected to
the ARA cloud via Netgear switches.

.. image:: images/ARA_Sandbox.png
   :align: center


.. note:: An SDR (blue box) without a serial ID indicates that it is
          under testing. The serial ID will be updated shortly.

The coverage provided by each USRP X310 SDR (used as a base station)
for the B210s is shown in the following figure.

.. image:: images/ARA_Sandbox_Coverage.png
   :align: center


Sandbox Specification
----------------------------

* Software Defined Radio (SDR): 50 x NI USRP B210 and 3 x NI USRP X310
* SDR Host Computer: Intel NUC 13 (for USRP B210) and Dell EMC
  PowerEdge R750 (for USRP X310)

A snapshot of the sandbox is shown in the figure below.

.. image:: images/Sandbox_Snapshot.png
   :align: center





How to Use ARA Sandbox?
------------------------------

ARA considers sandbox as an ARA site similar to any other Base Station
(BS) or User Equipment (UE) location. Contrary to the other sites,
each SDR in the sandbox can be used either as a BS or as a
UE. Therefore, we define the device type of the host computer as
**Host**. The reservation and container instantiation in sandbox
follows the same procedures as any other resource. For example, to
create a lease, users can select the following attributes in the lease
form.

  * **Site:** Sandbox
  * **Resource Type:** AraRAN
  * **Device Type:** Host
  * **Device ID:** 001-028

On reserving the nodes, users can launch containers and execute the
experiments.