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This work presents the design and implementation of an Open Storage System plugin for XRootD, utilizing Named Data Networking (NDN). This represents a significant step in integrating NDN, a prominent future Internet architecture, with the established data management systems within CMS. We show that this integration enables XRootD to access data in a location transparent manner, reducing the complexity of data management and retrieval. Our approach includes the creation of the NDNc software library, which bridges the existing NDN C++ library with the high-performance NDN-DPDK data-forwarding system. This paper outlines the design of the plugin and preliminary results of data transfer tests using both internal and external 100 Gbps testbed. 

Abstract Protrusions at the leading-edge of a cell play an important role in sensing the extracellular cues during cellular spreading and motility. Recent studies provided indications that these protrusions wrap (coil) around the extracellular fibers. However, the physics of this coiling process, and the mechanisms that drive it, are not well understood. We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of the coiling of cellular protrusions on fibers of different geometry. Our theoretical model describes membrane protrusions that are produced by curved membrane proteins that recruit the protrusive forces of actin polymerization, and identifies the role of bending and adhesion energies in orienting the leading-edges of the protrusions along the azimuthal (coiling) direction. Our model predicts that the cell’s leading-edge coils on fibers with circular cross-section (above some critical radius), but the coiling ceases for flattened fibers of highly elliptical cross-section. These predictions are verified by 3D visualization and quantitation of coiling on suspended fibers using Dual-View light-sheet microscopy (diSPIM). Overall, we provide a theoretical framework, supported by experiments, which explains the physical origin of the coiling phenomenon. 

An increasingly collaborative and distributed nature of scientific collaborations, along with the exploding volume and variety of datasets point to an urgent need for data publication frameworks that allow researchers to publish data rapidly and reliably. However, current scientific data publication solutions only support any one of these requirements at a time. Currently, the most common data publication models are either centralized or ad-hoc. While the centralized model (e.g., publishing via a repository controlled by a central organization) can provide reliability through replication, the publication speed tends to be slower due to the inevitable curation and processing delays. Further, such centralized models may place restrictions regarding what data can be published through them. On the contrary, adhoc models lead to concerns such as the lack of replication and a robust security model. We present Hydra, a peer-to-peer, decentralized storage system that enables decentralized and reliable data publication capabilities. Hydra enables collaborating organizations to create a loosely interconnected and federated storage overlay atop community provided storage servers. The Hydra overlay is entirely decentralized. Hydra enables secure publication and access to data from anywhere and ensures automatic replication of published data, enhancing availability and reliability. Hydra also makes replication decisions without a central controller while accommodating local policies. Hydra embodies a significant stride toward next-generation scientific data management, fostering a decentralized, reliable, and accessible system that fits the changing landscape of scientific collaborations. 

Distributed dataset synchronization, or Sync in short, plays the role of a transport service in the Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture. A number of NDN Sync protocols have been developed over the last decade. In this paper, we conduct a systematic examination of NDN Sync protocol designs, identify common design patterns, reveal insights behind different design approaches, and collect lessons learned over the years. We show that (i) each Sync protocol can be characterized by its design decisions on three basic components - dataset namespace representation, namespace encoding for sharing, and change notification mechanism, and (ii) two or three types of choices have been observed for each design component. Through analysis and experimental evaluation, we reveal how different design choices influence the latency, reliability, overhead, and security of dataset synchronization. We also discuss the relationship between transport and application naming, the implications of namespace encoding for Sync group scalability, and the fundamental reason behind the need for Sync Interest multicast. 

Named Data Networking (NDN) secures network communications by requiring all data packets to be signed upon production. This requirement makes usable and efficient NDN certificate issuance and revocation essential for NDN operations. In this paper, we first investigate and clarify core concepts related to NDN certificate revocation, then proceed with the design of CertRevoke, an NDN certificate revocation framework. CertRevoke utilizes naming conventions and trust schema to ensure certificate owners and issuers legitimately produce in-network cacheable records for revoked certificates. We evaluate the security properties and performance of CertRevoke through case studies. Our results show that deploying CertRevoke in an operational NDN network is feasible.