[SOLVED] Cs6250 project 4- spanning tree

CS 6250
Spring 2025

Spanning Tree
Table of Contents
PROJECT GOAL 2
Part 1: Setup 2
Part 2: Files Layout 2
Part 3: TODOs 3
Part 4: Testing and Debugging 5
Part 5: Assumptions and Clarifications 6
What to Turn In 7
What you can and cannot share 7
Rubric 8

PROJECT GOAL
Part 1: Setup
Download the project files from Canvas. You can do this project on your host system if it has Python 3.11.x. The project does not have any dependencies outside of Python. You must be sure that your submission runs properly in Gradescope. Gradescope is the environment where your project will be graded. Gradescope and the VM are the only valid environments for this course.
Part 2: Files Layout
There are many files in the SpanningTree directory, but you should only modify Switch.py.
The files in the project skeleton are described below. DO NOT modify these files. All of your work must be in Switch.py ONLY. You should study the other files to understand the project framework.
• Topology.py – Represents a network topology of layer 2 switches. This class reads in the specified topology and arranges it into a data structure that your Switch can access. This class also adjusts the topology if any changes are indicated within the XXXTopo.py class.
• Message.py – This class represents a message format you will use to communicate between switches, similar to the course lectures. Specifically, you will create and send messages in Switch.py by declaring a message as:
msg = Message(claimedRoot, distanceToRoot, originID, destinationID, pathThrough, timeToLive)

• run.py – A “main” file that loads a topology file (see XXXTopo.py below), uses that to create a Topology object containing Switches, and runs the simulation.
• XXXTopo.py, etc. – These are topology files that you will pass as input to the run.py file.
Part 3: TODOs
This is an outline of the code you must implement in Switch.py with suggestions for implementation. Keep in mind that certain update rules will take precedence over others.
A. Decide on the data structure(s) that you will use to keep track of the spanning tree.

1. The collection of active links across all switches is the resulting spanning tree.
3. This is a distributed algorithm. The switch can only communicate with its direct neighbors. It does not have an overall view of the topology as a whole (do not access self.topology).
4. An example data structure should include, at a minimum:
a. a variable to store the switch ID that this switch sees as the root,
b. a variable to store the distance to the switch’s root,
c. a list or other datatype that stores the “active links” (only the links to neighbors that are in the spanning tree).
d. a variable to keep track of which neighbor it goes through to get to the root (a switch should only go through one neighbor, if any, to get to the root).

B. Implement processing a message from an immediate neighbor.

1. You do not need to worry about sending the initial messages. You only need to worry about the sending and processing of subsequent messages.
2. For each message a switch receives, the switch will need to:
a. Determine whether an update to the switch’s root information is necessary and update accordingly.
I. The switch should update the root stored in its data structure if it receives a message with a lower claimedRoot.
II. The switch should update the distance stored in its data structure if
a) the switch updates the root, or b) there is a shorter path to the same root.
b. Determine whether an update to the switch’s active links data structure is necessary and update accordingly. The switch should update the activeLinks if:
I. The switch finds a new path to the root (through a different neighbor). In this case, the switch should add the new link to activeLinks and removes the old link from activeLinks
II. The switch receives a message with pathThrough = TRUE but does not have that originID in its activeLinks list. In this case, the switch should add originID to its activeLinks list.
III. The switch receives a message with pathThrough = FALSE but the switch has that originID in its activeLinks. In this case, the switch should remove originID from its activeLinks list
c. Determine when the Switch should send messages to its neighbors and send the messages.
I. The message FIFO queue is maintained in Topology.py. The switch implementation does not interact with the FIFO queue directly, but uses the send_message function, and receives messages as arguments in the process_message function.
II. When sending messages, pathThrough should only be TRUE if the destinationID switch is the neighbor that the originID switch goes through to get to the claimedRoot. Otherwise, pathThrough should be FALSE.
III. The switch should continue sending messages to its neighbors until the ttl (time to live) on the Message being processed is 0. You need to decrement the ttl every time you process a Message. Note: This is one place where this project deviates from the STP algorithm you learned in the lectures.
a. The switch that is dropped should never split the original topology. That means that the final Topology will remain connected.
b. The switch that is dropped could be the original root, your algorithm should adapt accordingly.
c. The Topology file will include the ttl_limit and drops. The ttl_limit is the starting ttl for each message in the Topology. The drops indicate which switch(es) will be dropped.
d. You do not need to access the ttl_limit. This will be given to each message at the start of the process. You need to decrement the ttl to 0 to trigger the Topology’s drop process. C. Write a logging function.
1. The switch should only output the links that are in the spanning tree.
2. Follow the below format (# – #). Unsorted or non-standard formatting will result in penalties. Examples of correct logs with the correct format have been provided to you in the project directories.
3. Sorted: Not sorted:
1 – 2, 1 – 3 1 – 3, 1 – 2
2 – 1, 2 – 4 2 – 4, 2 – 1
3 – 1 3 – 1
4 – 2 4 – 2

Part 4: Testing and Debugging
To run your code on a specific topology (SimpleLoopTopo.py in this case) and output the results to a text file (out.txt in this case), execute the following command:
python run.py SimpleLoopTopo
“SimpleLoopTopo” is not a typo in the example command – don’t include the .py extension.
We have included several topologies with correct solutions for you to test your code against. You can (and are encouraged to) create more topologies and test suites with output files and share them on Ed Discussion. There will be a designated post where students can share these files.
You will only be submitting Switch.py – your implementation must be confined to modifications of that file. We recommend testing your submission against a clean copy of the rest of the project files prior to submission.
Part 5: Assumptions and Clarifications
A. All switch IDs are positive integers, and distinct.
1. These integers do not have to be consecutive.
2. They will not always start at 1.
3. There is no maximum value beyond language (Python) limitations (but your code does not need to check for this).
B. Tie breakers: If there are multiple paths of equal distance to the same root, the switch should choose the path through the neighbor with the lowest switch ID.
1. Example: switch 5 has two paths to root switch 1, through switch 3 and switch 2. Each path is 2 hops in length. Switch 5 should select switch 2 as the path to the root and disable forwarding on the link to switch 3.

C. There is a single distinct solution spanning tree for each topology. This is guaranteed by the first two assumptions (A and B).
D. All switches in the network will be connected to at least one other switch, and all switches are able to reach every other switch. It will always be possible to form a tree that spans the entire topology.
E. There will be only 1 link between each pair of directly connected switches. You do not need to consider how STP would behave with redundant links.
G. The solution implemented in Switch.py should terminate without intervention. When there are no more messages in the queue to process, the simulation will log the output and terminate. Your algorithm should stop sending messages when the ttl on the Message being processed is 0.
H. Your solution should not require any outside Python modules. Do not import any other modules.
What to Turn In
Before submission:
a. Make sure your logging format is correct. Invalid format will be marked as incorrect.
b. Remove all print statements from your code before turning it in. Print statements can have drastic effects on runtime. Your submission must take less than 30 seconds per topology. If print statements in your code adversely affect the grading process, your work will not receive full credit.
c. Your algorithm must converge upon the Spanning Tree within the Topology’s ttl_limit.
d. Make sure your Switch.py works in Gradescope. Gradescope will give you immediate feedback, along with your grade, so we will not accept re-grade requests related to incorrect submissions.
f. Helper functions: Helper functions are fine as long as the names don’t conflict with anything already in the project. If it works in Gradescope, it is fine.
After submission:
h. Your grade in Gradescope will be your grade for this project, with some caveats:
b. Any attempt to bypass or distort the autograder will result in a 0 and will be referred to OSI.
What you can and cannot share
Rubric

10
pts Correct
Submission For turning in the correct file with the correct name. You receive 10 FREE points for reading the instructions.
30
pts Provided
Topologies For correct Spanning Tree results (log files) on the provided topologies.
60
pts Hidden
Topologies For correct Spanning Tree results (log files) on the four topologies that you will not have access to. These cases are used to prevent students from hard coding a solution.