Enabling Active Networking on RMT Hardware

Abstract

The ecosystem of application functionality built around programmable switch hardware is growing at a rapid pace in recent times, fueled by the advent of reconfigurable match-action table (RMT) technology. This new class of devices is capable of simultaneously delivering basic computation and line-rate forwarding at a reasonable cost. Given this transformation in commodity switching functionality, we suggest it may be time to reconsider the concept of active networking, where end hosts can off-load application functionality to the network in real time without requiring the assistance of the network operator. We present a preliminary approach to encoding (nearly) arbitrary computation into a series of network packets that can be decoded and executed on programmable switch hardware. Our programs can leverage both the forwarding and storage capabilities of RMT devices. We also conduct an initial exploration into the importance of dynamically allocating switch resources across active programs to improve aggregate performance.