TC: Large: Collaborative Research: High-Level Language Support for Trustworthy Networks

可以说，计算机网络现在是美国最关键的基础设施。他们控制着我们公民、我们的企业、我们的政府和我们的军队之间的所有通信。然而，令人担忧的是，今天的网络非常不可靠和不安全。漏洞的一个重要来源是底层网络设备(例如路由器和交换机)运行用迟钝的低级编程语言编写的复杂程序，这使得管理网络成为一项困难且容易出错的任务。简单的错误会造成灾难性的后果，包括使网络容易受到拒绝服务攻击、劫持和大规模中断。本研究的目标是通过引入一类新的网络编程语言来改变网络管理的方式，这些语言具有以下基本特征：(I)网络范围内的、按结构更正的抽象；(Ii)对容错和可扩展性的支持；(Iii)与终端主机和独立管理的网络的协调，以及它们之间建立信任的机制；(Iv)基于严格语义基础的形式化验证工具；以及(V)能够生成在异类设备上运行的高效和可移植代码的编译器。为了演示如何构建具有这些功能的语言，研究人员正在为OpenFlow网络设计一种名为Frentic的语言，并在几个新的安全应用程序上对其进行评估。该项目将产生广泛的影响，包括：(I)发现提高我们网络可靠性的关键技术；(Ii)开放用于网络编程的接口，从而实现以前不可能实现的基层创新；(Iii)培养具有网络和编程语言高级技能的新的研究人员群体。

Computer networks are now, arguably, the United States' most critical infrastructure. They control all communication amongst our citizenry, our businesses, our government, and our military. Worryingly, however, today's networks are remarkably unreliable and insecure. A significant source of vulnerability is the fact that the underlying network equipment (e.g., routers and switches) run complicated programs written in obtuse, low-level programming languages, which makes managing networks a difficult and error-prone task. Simple mistakes can have disastrous consequences including making the network vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks, hijackings, and wide-scale outages.The goal of this research is to transform the way that networks are managed by introducing a new class of network programming languages with the following essential features: (i) network-wide, correct-by-construction abstractions; (ii) support for fault-tolerance and scalability; (iii) coordination with end-hosts and independently-administered networks, as well as mechanisms for establishing trust between them; (iv) formal verification tools based on rigorous semantic foundations; and (v) compilers capable of generating efficient and portable code that runs on heterogeneous equipment. To demonstrate how to build a language with these features, the researchers are designing a language for OpenFlow networks called Frenetic, and evaluating it on several novel security applications. This project will have broad impact by (i) discovering key techniques for increasing the reliability of our networks, (ii) opening up the interfaces used to program networks, thereby enabling grass-roots innovation where it was previously not possible, and (iii) educating a new community of researchers with advanced skills in both networking and programming languages.