P4-KBR: A Key-Based Routing System for P4-Programmable Networks

Abstract

Software-defined networking (SDN) architecture has provided well-known advantages in terms of network programmability, initially offering a standard, open, and vendor-agnostic interface (e.g., OpenFlow) to instruct the forwarding behavior of network devices from different vendors. However, in the last few years, data plane programmability has emerged as a promising approach to extend the network management allowing the definition and programming of customized and non-standardized protocols, as well as specific packet processing pipelines. In this paper, we propose an in-network key-based routing protocol called P4-KBR, in which end-points (hosts, contents or services) are identified by virtual identifiers (keys) instead of IP addresses, and where P4 network elements are programmed to be able to route the packets adequately. The proposal was implemented and evaluated using bmv2 P4 switches, verifying how data plane programmability offers a powerful tool to overcome continuing challenges that appear in SDN networks.