INT-SDN: Evaluation of various P4 parameters using optical telemetry having reconfigurable data plane on 40 Gbps line rate

Abstract

Ethernet packet communication is the old established protocol of data transfer in networks. Ethernet devices transmit the data from a source to a receiver while the receiver has no statistics regarding the transmission channel. In this era of global transmission where the upcoming communication technology will be equipped with self optimized transmission under which there will be minimum errors. The need to gather information related to the transmission path arises. The primary objective of this research paper is to evaluate the different P4 parameters on optical media. P4 enabled NIC’s, corresponding FPGA Images and traditional Ethernet switches were used for the results. INT- SDN P4 packets were transmitted and the comprehensive test traces were captured and examined. DPDK was used which provides the foundation for P4 packet forwarding. Data, as well as the control plane were fully configurable in the hardware setup which resulted in speedier data transmission and also enhanced the packet efficiency at higher data rates. Metrics such as latency, throughput, data rates and efficiency were accumulated, compared and analyzed on P4 based optical network having a 40 Gbps data transmission rate. Moreover, the inside story of the optical channel was gathered which will provide further insights related to the P4 transmission medium.