Collaborative Research: CNS Core: Large: Runtime Programmable Networks

合作研究：CNS 核心：大型：运行时可编程网络

• 批准号: 2214015
• 负责人: Aditya Akella
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-15 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2214015&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; CNS; Core; Large

Programmability is fuel for network innovation. In today’s programmable networks, new features can be easily developed without having to rely on vendor support. However, deploying new features still requires fleet-wide maintenance to avoid disruption because device reprogramming incurs downtime. This severely constrains the speed of change, as maintenance operations require meticulous planning well ahead of time. This project proposes runtime programmable networks, where the end-to-end network infrastructure, vertically from the host kernels down to the network interface cards, and horizontally extending across switches to the other end of the network, can be reprogrammed on-the-fly without packet drops and with strong consistency guarantees. This represents a major leap from today’s programmable networks, which are reconfigurable at compile time but become fixed functions at runtime after deployment.According to this project's vision, FlexNet, the network infrastructure provides a collection of basic utilities and, on demand, extensions are partially reconfigured into the infrastructure by injecting, removing, or overriding specific functions. This accelerates the speed of delivering new features to end users, increases the manageability of large networks by lowering the barrier for change, and creates new possibilities unavailable in today’s programmable networks, such as powerful, dynamic security defenses. With FlexNet, this project can summon security defenses into the network precisely when needed. Defenses can migrate to the attack location or replicate across the network to maximize their effectiveness. They can even shapeshift in real time to mitigate changing attacks. When attacks subside, these defenses can be soon removed from the network to reduce overhead. This project aims to elevate network programming from a “one-shot” endeavor at compile time to “continuous” activities throughout the lifecycle of the network.In order to realize our vision, this project needs to innovate across the stack. Concretely, this project proposes a four-pronged approach to programing, compiling, verifying, and managing runtime programmable networks end-to-end. First, runtime network programming requires controlling disparate datapaths and their real-time changes as a whole, while ensuring runtime portability across devices; thus, this project will develop a new programming system. Compiling a whole-network program to a heterogeneous substrate, while continuously reoptimizing for runtime changes, requires a new compiler design. To ensure the safety of network changes, this project must simultaneously innovate on runtime verification and validation. Finally, FlexNet programs have dynamic footprints in the network—migrating, expanding, and shrinking across devices—so this project needs a new management system to control such unprecedented dynamics. This project will produce an integrated platform upon which the FlexNet techniques will be evaluated comprehensively at various scales and with diverse workloads. To achieve a wider community engagement, this project will release software and hardware prototypes and educational materials in open source, and by collaborating with industry partners, this project will transition the FlexNet technologies into practice.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

可编程性是网络创新的动力，在当今的可编程网络中，无需依赖供应商的支持即可轻松开发新功能，但是，部署新功能仍然需要进行整体维护以避免中断，因为设备重新编程会导致停机。变化的速度，因为维护操作需要提前精心规划，该项目提出了运行时可编程网络，其中端到端网络基础设施从主机内核垂直向下到网络接口卡，并水平延伸。跨交换机到网络另一端，可以在不丢失数据包的情况下即时重新编程，并具有强大的一致性保证，这代表了当今可编程网络的重大飞跃，可编程网络在编译时可重新配置，但在运行后成为固定功能。部署。根据该项目的愿景，FlexNet，网络基础设施提供了一系列基本实用程序，并且根据需要，通过注入、删除或覆盖特定功能将扩展部分重新配置到基础设施中。加快向最终用户提供新功能的速度，通过降低变革障碍来提高大型网络的可管理性，并创造当今可编程网络中无法实现的新可能性，例如强大的动态安全防御，该项目可以召唤安全防御。防御措施可以在需要时准确地迁移到攻击位置或在整个网络中进行复制，以最大限度地提高其有效性。当攻击消退时，这些防御措施可以很快从网络中移除。减少该项目的开销。旨在将网络编程从编译时的“一次性”努力提升为整个网络生命周期中的“连续”活动。为了实现我们的愿景，该项目需要跨堆栈进行创新。端到端编程、编译、验证和管理运行时可编程网络的四管齐下的方法首先，运行时网络编程需要整体控制不同的数据路径及其实时变化，同时确保运行时间。跨设备的可移植性；因此，该项目将开发一种新的编程系统，将全网络程序编译到异构底层，同时针对运行时变化不断重新优化，需要新的编译器设计，以确保网络变化的安全性。最后，FlexNet 程序在网络中具有动态足迹（跨设备迁移、扩展和收缩），因此该项目需要一个新的管理系统来控制这种前所未有的动态。其中FlexNet 技术将在不同规模和不同工作负载下进行全面评估，为了实现更广泛的社区参与，该项目将以开源方式发布软件和硬件原型以及教育材料，并通过与行业合作伙伴合作，该项目将过渡 FlexNet 技术。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Resilient Baseband Processing in Virtualized RANs with Slingshot

• DOI: 10.1145/3603269.3604841
• 发表时间: 2023-09
• 期刊: Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM 2023 Conference
• 作者: N. Lazarev;T. Ji;Anuj Kalia;Daehyeok Kim;Ilias Marinos;Francis Y. Yan;Christina Delimitrou;Zhiru Zhang;Aditya Akella;U. Austin