FMitF: Track I: Flexible Data Plane Programming

业界和研究界对对网络路由器在处理数据分组时采取的操作进行编程的能力非常感兴趣。这种能力(称为数据平面编程)可以释放令人兴奋的应用，例如网络性能诊断、网络攻击检测和机器学习算法的快速训练。不幸的是，对于网络架构师来说，自然而高效地对数据平面进行编程是一项挑战。现有的方法太抽象，无法进行必要的优化，或者对程序员来说级别太低，负担太重。该项目的新颖性是一种全新的数据平面编程方法，它使网络分析师能够自然、灵活和自动地描述他们的网络设计和优化目标。该项目的更广泛的意义和重要性是简化数据平面编程，从而使网络和信息技术(IT)行业受益，并培训研究生和本科生数据平面编程和计算的正式方法。该项目开发了P4Sketch，这是一种特定于领域的基于草图的语言，扩展了典型的数据平面语言编程协议无关的分组处理器(P4)。P4Sketch允许网络架构师将其高级别的全网设计思想表达为程序草图，描述其定制的、定量的甚至不确定的优化目标，并生成所需的最佳P4程序。P4Sketch的后端是一种特定于领域的合成算法，它通过模型生成以及模型生成器和代码合成器之间的交互来有效地处理外部对象和函数。P4Sketch还得到了一套用于测试、验证、调试和优化的工具的支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There has been significant interest in the industry and research community regarding the ability to program the actions taken by network routers when they process data packets. Such a capability (referred to as data plane programming) can unleash exciting applications such as network performance diagnosis, cyberattack detection, and fast training of machine learning algorithms. Unfortunately, it is challenging for network architects to program data planes naturally and efficiently. Existing approaches are too abstract, precluding necessary optimization, or too low-level and burdensome to programmers. The project’s novelty is a radically new approach for data plane programming, which enables a network analyst to describe their network design and optimization goals naturally, flexibly, and automatically. The project’s broader significance and importance are simplifying data-plane programming, thereby benefiting the networking and Information Technology (IT) industry, and training graduate and undergraduate students in data plane programming and formal methods in computing.The project develops P4Sketch, a domain-specific, sketch-based language that extends a representative data plane language Programming Protocol-independent Packet Processors (P4). P4Sketch allows network architects to express their high-level network-wide design ideas as a program sketch, describe their customized, quantitative, and even indeterminate optimization targets, and produce desirable and optimal P4 programs. The backend of P4Sketch is a domain-specific synthesis algorithm which effectively handles external objects and functions via model generation and the interplay between the model generator and the code synthesizer. P4Sketch is also supported by a suite of tools for testing, verification, debugging and optimization.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.