PROJECT TITLE :

OpenFunction: An Extensible Data Plane Abstraction Protocol for Platform-Independent Software-Defined Middleboxes - 2018

ABSTRACT:

The information plane abstraction is central to software-outlined networking (SDN). Currently, SDN information plane abstraction has only been realized for switches however not for middleboxes. A knowledge plane abstraction for middleboxes is required to comprehend the vision of software-outlined middleboxes (SDMs). Such a knowledge plane abstraction should be both platform independent and totally extensible. The match-action abstractions in OpenFlow/P4 have limited expression power to be applicable to middleboxes. Modular abstraction approaches have been proposed to implement middlebox data plane but aren't fully extensible in a platform-independent manner. During this Project, we have a tendency to propose OpenFunction, an extensible knowledge plane abstraction protocol for platform-independent software-defined middleboxes. The main challenge is how to abstract packet operations, flow states, and event generations with components. The key decision of OpenFunction is: actions/states/events operations should be defined during a uniform pattern and independent from every alternative. We tend to implemented a working SDM system as well as one OpenFunction controller and 3 OpenFunction boxes primarily based on Netmap, DPDK, and FPGA, respectively, to verify OpenFunction abstraction.