Semantic-based forwarding model for network devices

Openflow provides a key step in abstracting network functions by separating the control and the forwarding plane. However, current rather rigid switches constrain packet processing programmability. It is therefore complex to implement flexible packet classification within existing ASIC-based switches, especially when forwarding switches rely on a restricted set of tables. In this paper, we introduce a flexible mechanism for assigning rule entries to switch tables. Accordingly, we propose a conceptual abstraction that tailors Openflow forwarding paths to the hardware switch. Our approach aims to provide an optimal mapping of entries to physical tables. Its main idea consists in using a semantic analysis to reflect the computational relation between rules and a set of packet descriptors characterized by predefined table entries.