Convergence of Communication and Processing in Next-Generation Networks

We argue that applications can benefit from the offloading of processing tasks into the data path of next-generation networks, where custom packet processing functions can be implemented. We present the concept of application-layer services and how they can be integrated into our existing network service architecture for easy use and control. Using a web server application as an example, we discuss how an application can be partitioning between end-system and offloading tasks. Our prototype implementation based on an Intel IXP2855 network processor demonstrates that web page access times can be improved by using our application-layer services.