Ac as de las XV Jo nadas
de Ingenie ía Telemá ica
(JITEL 2021),
A Co uña (España),
27-29 de oc ub e de 2021.
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Towa ds in eg a ing ha dwa e Da a Plane
accele a ion in Ne wo k Func ions Vi ualiza ion
Da id F anco1, Asie A u xa1, Jo ge Sasiain1, Ede Ollo a2, Ma i i Higue o1, Jasone As o ga1, Edua do Jacob1
1Depa men o Communica ions Enginee ing, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU). 48013 Bilbao, Spain.
{da id. anco, asie .a u xa, jo ge.sasiain, ma i i.higue o, jasone.as o ga, edua do.jacob}@ehu.eus
2DTU Fo onik, Technical Uni e si y o Denma k. Kongens Lyngby, Denma k.
[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac —This pape p oposes a amewo k o in eg a -
ing da a plane (DP) accele a ion wi hin he Ne wo k Func-
ions Vi ualiza ion (NFV) a chi ec u e. Da a plane p og am-
ming (DPP) p o es o be bene icial o NFV en i onmen s,
as i p o ides ull packe o wa ding lexibili y h ough he
use o sel -designed algo i hms. Addi ionally, DPP p o ides
high-pe o mance ne wo king, as he DP can be con igu ed o
execu e speci ic unc ions on dedica ed ha dwa e. We p esen
an in eg a ion o he DP accele a ion wi hin he ETSI NFV
a chi ec u e ha le e ages cus om DP unc ions implemen ed
in ha dwa e swi ches using P4 language. Besides, Open-
S ack and Kube ne es a e used as Vi ualized In as uc u e
Manage s (VIMs) and Open Sou ce MANO (OSM) as he
Managemen and O ches a ion (MANO) elemen .
Keywo ds—P4, NFV, da a plane accele a ion
I. INTRODUCTION
In he las yea s, Ne wo k Func ions Vi ualiza ion
(NFV) and So wa e-De ined Ne wo king (SDN) ha e
changed he amewo k o he deploymen o se ices.
On he one hand, NFV allows Ne wo k Func ions (NFs)
o be deployed as Vi ual Ne wo k Func ions (VNFs) o e
a comme cial o - he-shel ha dwa e in as uc u e. On he
o he hand, SDN sol es he p oblem o ha ing a endo -
speci ic con ol plane (CP) in ne wo k de ices, allowing
he de ini ion o cus om CPs designed by he ne wo k op-
e a o . Howe e , ull packe o wa ding lexibili y is gi en
by da a plane p og amming (DPP), which can o wa d
packe s ollowing sel -designed algo i hms and pe o m
cus om ac ions o packe s wi h use -de ined o ma s. P o-
g amming P o ocol-Independen Packe P ocesso s (P4) is
a DPP language ha p o ides a high abs ac ion le el
o de ine packe p ocessing pipelines. DPP also p o ides
high pe o mance ne wo king, as he da a plane o ne wo k
de ices can be con igu ed o execu e speci ic unc ions on
dedica ed ha dwa e. The addi ion o DPP o NFV h ough
ha dwa e ne wo k de ices enhances he pe o mance in he
communica ion among VNFs hanks o line- a e packe
p ocessing capabili y and he abili y o o load ce ain
compu e-in ensi e unc ions.
This pape p oposes an in eg a ion o he DP accele -
a ion wi hin he s anda d ETSI NFV a chi ec u e, using
OpenS ack and Kube ne es o manage he NFV In as-
uc u e (NFVI), and Open Sou ce MANO (OSM) as he
op-le el NFV o ches a o . The amewo k in eg a es he
li ecycle o P4-enabled ha dwa e swi ches in he NFV
a chi ec u e o enable he au oma ic o loading o NFs o
he DP.
II. RELATED WORK
Di e en wo ks ha e been p esen ed in he li e a u e
ega ding he da a plane (DP) unc ion o loading in NFV.
Fo ins ance, [1], [2] in oduce wo amewo ks o o load
VNF p ocessing o P4-based Ne wo k In e ace Ca ds
(NICs) and so wa e swi ches espec i ely. The o me
decomposes VNFs in o small embedded NFs ha a e
o loaded o he DP, and he la e uns NFs as P4 p og ams
on Docke con aine s ha implemen P4 a ge s.
Au ho s in [3] p opose an ETSI NFV-based a chi ec u e
ha allows he ins an ia ion o P4-based NFs. They explain
he necessi y o econ igu ing he DP when mul iple use s
a e sha ing he same physical P4 a ge and hey es
hei a chi ec u e o e P4 so wa e swi ches. In his sense,
[4], [5], [6] p o ide di e en app oaches o achie e DP
modula i y and allow a anspa en econ igu a ion o
he DP. The majo i y o hem equi e modi ica ions o
he P4 compile , o e en in he a chi ec u e o he P4
a ge . Fo ins ance, [5], [6] p esen abs ac ion laye s and
mechanisms o c ea e modula P4 p og ams ha can hen
be me ged.
Au ho s in [7], [8] desc ibe how o in eg a e P4 wi hin
OpenS ack, by modi ying he Neu on module o allow
he o loading o some VNF unc ions o he DP o P4
so wa e swi ches. They classi y hei VNF o loading ac-
co ding o he accele a ion echniques de ined by he ETSI
NFV [9]. Howe e , none o hese app oaches conside s he
use o ha dwa e-based a ge s.
This pape ocuses on he ad an ages o in eg a ing
P4-enabled ha dwa e swi ches in NFV o au oma e he
o loading and accele a ion o cus om NFs o he DP.
224
F anco, A u xa, Sasiain, Ollo a, Higue o, As o ga, Jacob, 2021.
Compu e Node 1
VNF1
VNF1
Da a Cen e Swi ch Da a Cen e Swi ch
High Pe o mance
Da a Ne wo k
Swi ch
VNFs
NIC
NIC
VF
NIC
VF1 VF2 VFn
S anda d
Da a Ne wo k
VNF1
VNF1
CNFs
VF NIC
Compu e Node n
VNF1
VNF1
Swi ch
VNFs
NIC
NIC
VF
NIC
VF1 VF2 VFn
VNF1
VNF1
CNFs
VF NIC
senso
da a a e
Fig. 1. P oposed sys em a chi ec u e o in eg a e P4NFs.
III. PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR DP
ACCELERATION IN NFV
This sec ion desc ibes he p oposed in eg a ion o he
DP accele a ion wi hin he ETSI NFV a chi ec u e. The
p oposed amewo k allows he use s o c ea e ne wo k
se ices (NSs) ha le e age cus om DP unc ions imple-
men ed in P4 language. Fo his pu pose, physical P4-
enabled swi ches a e in eg a ed in o he NFVI.
A. Func ional desc ip ion
In his subsec ion we p esen an o e iew o he p o-
posed echnologies and app oaches o enable he deploy-
men o NSs combining adi ional NFs —VNFs and
Con aine Ne wo k Func ions (CNFs)— wi h ou no el
p oposed concep o P4 Ne wo k Func ions (P4NFs). We
p opose he deploymen o such P4NFs o e P4 swi ches.
As pa o he NFV a chi ec u e, OpenS ack and Ku-
be ne es a e used as Vi ualized In as uc u e Manage s
(VIMs) and Open Sou ce MANO (OSM) is used as he
Managemen and O ches a ion (MANO) elemen . The
NFVI is composed o se e al compu e nodes ha o m
he OpenS ack cloud and he Kube ne es clus e , as well
as o he swi ching in as uc u e o in e connec hose
nodes, which includes bo h egula and P4 swi ches. OSM
can deploy VNFs and CNFs on op o OpenS ack and
Kube ne es espec i ely, whe eas P4NFs a e employed
o con igu e he P4 swi ches. These swi ches a e egis-
e ed in OSM as Physical Deploymen Uni s. Connec i i y
be ween VNFs and CNFs can be p o ided h ough he
egula op o he ack swi ches and/o h ough he P4
swi ches. To make his possible, he compu e nodes ha e
ne wo k in e aces connec ed o bo h ypes o swi ches,
enabling he VNFs/CNFs o connec o any ne wo k. The
VNF/CNF in e aces owa ds he P4 swi ches a e SR-
IOV Vi ual Func ions (VFs). To achie e isola ion be ween
enan s —i.e. be ween NSs o di e en enan s—, sepa a e
OpenS ack VLAN ne wo ks a e assigned o each enan .
This p oposed a chi ec u e is depic ed in Fig. 1.
To design a P4NF, he use p o ides a e e ence o he
desi ed unc ions in a P4NF me ada a ile, such as simple
CNF
VNF 1 VNF 2
CNF
VNF
P4NF
P4NF
me ada a
NS package
P4NF
NS ins an ia ion
Use
VNF/CNF
desc ip o
P4NF
package
Admin
CP
ules
day-2 ops
Con ol
Plane
(CP)
Fig. 2. P4-based NS onboa ding and ins an ia ion p ocess.
laye 2 o wa ding, o laye 3 ou ing plus a cus om laye
3 i ewall. These unc ions a e ex ac ed om a sha ed
eposi o y o P4 code in which hey a e implemen ed in a
modula way. A use may upload a new unc ion ha is
no ye s o ed in he eposi o y o use i in he P4NF. The
eques ed unc ions a e con as ed wi h he cu en s a e
o he P4 pipeline, and he swi ch is econ igu ed in o de
o upg ade o a new s a e ha in eg a es he equi emen s
o he new P4NF, which in ol es ecompiling he DP and
econ igu ing he CP. E e y P4NF mus include he pa sing
o E he ne and VLAN o achie e he a o emen ioned
enan -le el isola ion.
The deploymen o hese P4NFs le e ages OSM’s sup-
po o Juju cha ms, which encapsula e a se o Py hon
sc ip s ha can be execu ed owa ds he a ge o he
P4NF, i.e. a P4 swi ch. Apa om he P4NF, he use
encapsula es he desi ed VNFs/CNFs in o an NS. The
P4NF designe p o ides he ne wo k adminis a o wi h
he P4NF me ada a ile plus he VNFs/CNFs, so ha
he la e builds he comple e package and ins an ia es
i . Fu he mo e, Juju cha ms can be used o implemen
day-2 ope a ions ha allow he P4NF designe o di ec ly
modi y he CP ules a any ime once he NS is c ea ed.
An example o he onboa ding, ins an ia ion, and li ecycle
managemen p ocesses o a composi e NS is illus a ed in
Fig. 2.
B. Low-le el design
This subsec ion p esen s a low-le el desc ip ion o he
p oposed deploymen me hodology o DP accele a ion
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225
Towa ds in eg a ing ha dwa e Da a Plane accele a ion in Ne wo k Func ions Vi ualiza ion
in NFV. Speci ically, a wo k low o he li ecycle man-
agemen o he en isioned NSs is analyzed, de ailing he
p ocedu es in ol ed in each ask.
The amewo k he eby p esen ed p o ides h ee main
ea u es ha enable he desc ip ion, ins an ia ion, and
managemen o he P4-enabled NSs. I p o ides (a) mul i-
enancy, so he connec i i y be ween NFs is es ic ed o
NSs connec ed o he same OpenS ack VLAN ne wo k,
and, hus, o NSs belonging o he same enan . I also
o e s (b) DP composi ion o desc ibe P4 unc ions a NS
le el and hen combine hem o c ea e a single P4 p og am
ha comp ises he P4 unc ions o all unning NSs —e en
hose om di e en enan s. In his way, he DP mus be
ecomposed each ime an NS is ins an ia ed o e mina ed.
The DP composing is implemen ed acco ding o [5], [6].
Las ly, i suppo s (c) DP slicing o implemen di e en
and isola ed packe p ocessing pipelines o each NS ha
is con igu ed when composing he DP.
A s anda d NS is o med by a combina ion o
VNFs/CNFs while a P4-based NS includes a P4NF, which
desc ibes he con igu a ion o he cus om DP dedica ed o
ha NS. The e o e, a new wo k low mus be de ined o
accommoda e he managemen o he li ecycle o hese
P4NFs. In his case, Juju is in cha ge o he li ecycle
managemen o he P4NFs, being esponsible o hei
ins an ia ion and e mina ion. Thus, a P4NF is a PNF
ha poin s o he physical P4 swi ch and implemen s he
equi ed Juju cha ms o i s con igu a ion.
To achie e hese ea u es, main aining di e en ypes
o s a e in o ma ion is c ucial. This leads o he ollowing
equi emen s:
•Minimal Laye 2 (L2) o wa ding equi es he P4
swi ch o know he MAC add esses connec ed o
each physical po . T a ic om di e en VNFs/CNFs
could come in o he same swi ch po as hey could
be hos ed by he same compu e node. A s a ic ma ch-
ac ion able (MAT), o wa d l2, is used o his
pu pose. Each compu e node SR-IOV VF is p econ-
igu ed wi h a s a ic MAC add ess, and he en ies
wi h each VNF/CNF MAC add ess o swi ch po
mapping a e p eloaded in o he a o emen ioned able.
•Mul i- enancy and DP slicing suppo equi e main-
aining a eco d in an ex e nal da abase o which DP
unc ions a e in use by each NS. This in o ma ion is
s o ed in he ns unc ions able, which is consul ed
whene e he DP needs o be ecomposed.
•Upon he ins an ia ion o e mina ion o a P4NF ha
equi es ecompiling he DP, all CP in o ma ion is
los as he DP ables a e des oyed. Fo his eason,
an image o he cu en CP s a e mus be kep up o
da e in an ex e nal da abase. The cp ules able is
in oduced.
•The P4 code used by any P4NF needs o be s o ed
in a public eposi o y. This includes he code ha
would be equi ed by a new P4NF, in o de o pull
said code du ing he ins an ia ion o he P4NF. This
eposi o y, named P4 unc ion eposi o y, allows any
use o upload hei cus om DP unc ions so hey a e
be o ehand checked.
When an NS is ins an ia ed, VNFs and CNFs a e con ig-
u ed ollowing he s anda d li ecycle ope a ions de ined in
OSM. Fo he P4NF, he code de ined in he Juju cha ms
pe o ms he ollowing li ecycle ope a ions o ins an ia e
he P4NF:
1) Check equi ed P4 unc ions: The P4NF me ada a
ile, which is pa o he Juju cha ms, includes a lis
o he P4 unc ions ha he DP mus implemen o
suppo he P4NF.
2) Upda e ns unc ions able: As he P4 swi ch canno
un mo e han a single DP P4 p og am a once,
his da abase able is equi ed in o de o ob ain
he comple e lis o he unning P4 unc ions and
ec ea e he p og am in he ollowing s ep. Likewise,
he able mus be upda ed o e lec he DP pipeline
s a e a e he in oduc ion o he new P4NF.
3) Compose P4 p og am: This s ep consis s in com-
bining di e en P4 unc ions o c ea e a single P4
p og am ha con igu es he DP pipeline. E en i
he new NS only equi es P4 unc ions ha al eady
exis in he DP, a new DP needs o be composed, as
he ables mus be unique o es ic access o each
DP able om he CP. This p ocess is challenging
and equi es speci ic P4 coding ules o achie e
composable P4 unc ions. The li e a u e p o ides
di e en app oaches o accomplish his ask [5], [6].
To use cus om P4 unc ions, hey mus be uploaded
o he P4 unc ion eposi o y, which assu es hei
”composabili y”.
4) Compile P4 p og am: The Juju cha ms es ablish an
ac i e connec ion o he P4 swi ch o load, compile,
and un he P4 p og am. Du ing his s ep, he P4
swi ch is no ope a ional un il he new p og am is
unning.
5) Con igu e swi ch po s: in case he DP was ecom-
piled, i is necessa y o b ing up all he po s ha
a e in use by he swi ch. This is a ixed ask, as all
he po s wi h a physical connec ion o a compu e
node need o be enabled.
6) Upda e CP: Finally, he Juju cha ms pe o m a
basic CP con igu a ion o p o ide L2 connec i i y
be ween he VNFs/CNFs speci ied in he NS. This
is achie ed by ha ing he VNFs/CNFs send hei
MAC add esses o he P4NF h ough Juju. These
pa ame e s a e hen used as inpu pa ame e s o
he CP o con igu e he o wa d l2 MAT. On he
o he hand, he cp ules da abase able needs o be
consul ed o es o e he mos ecen s a e o he CP.
Addi ionally, CP ope a ions ha in ol e illing owned
DP ables a e allowed h ough he NF day-2 li ecycle
ope a ions suppo ed by OSM and Juju. This includes bo h
se ing up he ini ial CP ules a e he P4NF ins an ia ion,
and inse ing new ules on demand. The excep ion o his is
he o wa d l2 MAT, which, despi e con aining en ies o
all use s, is managed by he ne wo k adminis a o only.
Each day-2 ope a ion is egis e ed in he cp ules da abase
o keep i up o da e.
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226
F anco, A u xa, Sasiain, Ollo a, Higue o, As o ga, Jacob, 2021.
The e mina ion o he NS mus be conside ed as pa o
he li ecycle managemen . The e o e, he code de ined in
he cha ms pe o ms he ollowing ope a ions o emo e
he P4NF:
1) Upda e ns unc ions able: All ac i e P4 unc ions
a e e ie ed om he ns unc ions able. Those
unc ions ha a e no longe needed a e he e -
mina ion o he P4NF a e emo ed om he able.
2) Compose P4 p og am: Simila ly o he NS ins an i-
a ion, he P4 p og am is econ igu ed. The no longe
needed P4 unc ions a e he e mina ion o he
P4NF a e excluded o build he new P4 p og am.
This includes he emo al o unused MATs. This
p ocess is done o achie e he simples possible DP
pipeline.
3) Compile P4 p og am: The same as in he NS
ins an ia ion wo k low is applied.
4) Con igu e swi ch po s: The same as in he NS
ins an ia ion wo k low is applied.
5) Upda e CP: The en ies in he o wa d l2 MAT o
he e mina ed P4NF a e disca ded. In addi ion, CP
changes igge ed h ough day-2 ope a ions need o
be e e ed du ing he econs uc ion o he CP. This
is done by looking up he cp ules able.
IV. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
DP accele a ion in NFV is a p omising idea, as he
dynamic econ igu a ion o he DP in an NFV-based en-
i onmen g an s ne wo k se ice p o ide s wi h powe ul
possibili ies. Howe e , he e a e s ill some challenges ha
mus be o e come in o de o op imize he sys em o
p oduc ion en i onmen s. We he eby highligh and discuss
he ollowing h ee challenges.
The i s challenge is sha ing P4 MATs among enan s.
This migh seem a good op ion, as i esul s in be e
usage o esou ces and op imiza ion o he P4 p og am.
Howe e , i a able is sha ed be ween wo enan s, one
could change he en ies ha co espond o he o he
enan and illegi ima ely modi y i s beha io . In ac ,
unau ho ized changes in he communica ion among VNFs
could be a po en ial a ack ec o inside he sys em. The
p oposed solu ion has been o duplica e he ables o each
enan o NS, so ha each o hem only has access o i s
own ables and canno modi y o he equi alen ables.
The second challenge is conce ned wi h he duplica ion
o pa se code in P4 p og ams. The P4 p og am in he
swi ch implemen s P4 unc ions in a modula way, only
composing and compiling P4 unc ions equi ed by in-
s an ia ed NSs. Howe e , mul iple NSs may ha e pa ially
concu en needs, o , in o he wo ds, sha e one P4 unc ion
bu equi e o he s ha a e di e en among hem. This
leads o di e en pa sing equi emen s o hose NSs. To
pu his in con ex , while wo NSs migh use he same
s a ic L2 o wa ding able, one NS may jus need o
pa se he E he ne heade , and he o he one may need
o pa se e en he applica ion laye —in o de o execu e
o he ac ions in a la e phase. The e o e, a solu ion o
his could be he duplica ion o pa se s —one o each
NS—, o ha ing a ”supe -pa se ” ha is able o ul ill any
pa sing equi emen o all ins an ia ed NSs, using only he
necessa y pa s o each case.
The hi d challenge is ela ed o he se ice down ime
ha a ises due o he ecompila ion o he P4 p og am
du ing he ins an ia ion and dele ion pe iods o NSs. Each
ime one o hese p ocesses is execu ed, he DP mus be
ecomposed and ecompiled, in e up ing he se ice in he
compila ion pa . This means ha all deployed NSs lose
connec i i y in ha pe iod, which en ails an a ailabili y
issue. App oaches simila o [5], [7] could be s udied o
add ess his issue, in which he swi ch en e s in a ”slow-
mode” s a e while he new DP is being ecompiled, bu
does no s op se ing wi h he cu en DP. E en hough
expe iencing se ice down ime migh no be easonable o
c i ical se ices, i could be o expe imen al en i onmen s
ha a e no signi ican ly a ec ed by i .
The e o e, ou esea ch shows ha he e a e se e al
me hods unde in es iga ion ha can p o ide solu ions
o he a o emen ioned challenges, and ad ance owa ds a
ully ope a ional sys em. The e is s ill mo e wo k o do,
mainly ocusing on he challenges analyzed in his sec ion,
bu we hink ha he o e all app oach is p omising and
may change he cu en se ice deploymen sys em in NFV
en i onmen s.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This wo k was suppo ed in pa by he Spanish Minis y
o Science and Inno a ion h ough he na ional p ojec
(PID2019-108713RB-C54) i led ”Towa ds zeRo oUch
nE wo k and se ices o beyond 5G” (TRUE-5G), and in
pa by he ”Sma Fac o ies o he Fu u e” (5G-Fac o ies)
(COLAB19/06) p ojec .
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