An Exhaustive Survey on P4 Programmable Data Plane Switches: Taxonomy, Applications, Challenges, and Future Trends
An Exhaustive Survey on P4 Programmable Data Plane Switches: Taxonomy, Applications, Challenges, and Future Trends
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DOI：
10.1109/access.2021.3086704
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发表时间：
2021-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Bou-Harb, Elias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kfoury, Elie F.;Crichigno, Jorge;Bou-Harb, Elias
传统上，数据平面被设计为具有固定功能，以使用一小组协议来转发分组。这种封闭式设计模式将交换机的功能限制在由供应商硬编码的专有实现上，导致了冗长、昂贵和不灵活的过程。最近，数据平面可编程性已经引起了研究界和工业界的极大关注，允许操作员和程序员一般运行定制的分组处理功能。这种开放式设计模式通过减少设计、测试和采用新协议的时间，为前所未有的创新和实验浪潮铺平了道路;实现了定制的自顶向下的方法来开发网络应用程序;提供了由程序员定义的分组事件的粒度可见性;降低了可编程交换机的复杂性并提高了资源利用率;并且极大地提高了卸载到数据平面的应用的性能。尽管可编程数据平面交换机具有令人印象深刻的优点及其在现代网络中的重要性，但文献一直缺乏全面的调查。为此，本文提供了一个背景，概述了网络从传统到可编程的演变，描述了可编程交换机的基本要素，并总结了它们相对于软件定义网络（SDN）和传统设备的优势。然后，本文提出了一个独特的，全面的分类与P4语言开发的应用程序;调查，分类和分析200多篇文章;讨论的挑战和考虑;并提出未来的观点和开放的研究问题。
Traditionally, the data plane has been designed with fixed functions to forward packets using a small set of protocols. This closed-design paradigm has limited the capability of the switches to proprietary implementations which are hard-coded by vendors, inducing a lengthy, costly, and inflexible process. Recently, data plane programmability has attracted significant attention from both the research community and the industry, permitting operators and programmers in general to run customized packet processing functions. This open-design paradigm is paving the way for an unprecedented wave of innovation and experimentation by reducing the time of designing, testing, and adopting new protocols; enabling a customized, top-down approach to develop network applications; providing granular visibility of packet events defined by the programmer; reducing complexity and enhancing resource utilization of the programmable switches; and drastically improving the performance of applications that are offloaded to the data plane. Despite the impressive advantages of programmable data plane switches and their importance in modern networks, the literature has been missing a comprehensive survey. To this end, this paper provides a background encompassing an overview of the evolution of networks from legacy to programmable, describing the essentials of programmable switches, and summarizing their advantages over Software-defined Networking (SDN) and legacy devices. The paper then presents a unique, comprehensive taxonomy of applications developed with P4 language; surveying, classifying, and analyzing more than 200 articles; discussing challenges and considerations; and presenting future perspectives and open research issues.