A P4-Enabled RINA Interior Router for Software-Defined Data Centers

Carolina Fernández,Eduard Grasa,Sergio Giménez,Steve Bunch

doi:10.3390/computers9030070

Carolina Fernández, Eduard Grasa + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/computers9030070

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Abstract

The lack of high-performance RINA (Recursive InterNetwork Architecture) implementations to date makes it hard to experiment with RINA as an underlay networking fabric solution for different types of networks, and to assess RINA’s benefits in practice on scenarios with high traffic loads. High-performance router implementations typically require dedicated hardware support, such as FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) or specialized ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). With the advance of hardware programmability in recent years, new possibilities unfold to prototype novel networking technologies. In particular, the use of the P4 programming language for programmable ASICs holds great promise for developing a RINA router. This paper details the design and part of the implementation of the first P4-based RINA interior router, which reuses the layer management components of the IRATI Linux-based RINA implementation and implements the data-transfer components using a P4 program. We also describe the configuration and testing of our initial deployment scenarios, using ancillary open-source tools such as the P4 reference test software switch (BMv2) or the P4Runtime API.

Highlights

All existing implementations of the RINA architecture to date are software-based
It would contribute towards lowering the perception of risk of the adoption of the RINA technology, demonstrating that RINA implementations can reach at least the same performance as equivalent implementations of legacy protocols
This paper presents the first implementation of a RINA interior router using P4 and leveraging on

Summary

Introduction

All existing implementations of the RINA architecture to date are software-based. IRATI [1]and rlite [2] are C/C++-based implementations for Linux hosts—which can be used as low-end software routers—but are mostly focused on Linux-based servers, laptops, and virtual machines.ProtoRINA [3] is a Java-based RINA implementation, mostly designed for education purposes and quick prototyping in academic environments. All existing implementations of the RINA architecture to date are software-based. Rlite [2] are C/C++-based implementations for Linux hosts—which can be used as low-end software routers—but are mostly focused on Linux-based servers, laptops, and virtual machines. ProtoRINA [3] is a Java-based RINA implementation, mostly designed for education purposes and quick prototyping in academic environments. RINASim [4] is an OMNeT++-based simulation framework for RINA networks. A high-performance RINA implementation would be a great complement to the current software-based prototypes, opening the door to new use cases for RINA experimentation such as campus networks, datacenter fabrics, 5G network backhaul or communication service providers core networks to name a few; and planting the seed for future RINA-based products. It would contribute towards lowering the perception of risk of the adoption of the RINA technology, demonstrating that RINA implementations can reach at least the same performance as equivalent implementations of legacy protocols

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