Challenges and Applications for Network-Processor-Based Programmable Routers

The growth in ubiquity, performance, and commercial and academic use of computer networks continues to demand more performance and flexibility from the underlying network infrastructure. The lack of security, quality of service, and manageability in the current Internet poses a significant challenge and highlights the importance of considering other network designs. Programmable routers provide a vehicle for experimenting with new architectures that allow the dynamic deployment of new protocols and services. To achieve the necessary throughput performance, programmable routers employ network processors, which are embedded system-on-a-chip multiprocessors. This paper discusses the challenges that such systems pose in terms of system architecture, programming abstraction, and deployment. The potential applications highlight the benefits of making router programmability a first-class networking function.