Tammo Spalink

Extensible routers for active networks

This paper describes our effort to build an extensible router in support of active networks. Our work is driven by two goals: (1) supporting the injection of new functionality into a router, and (2) exploiting commercially available hardware. Our approach is a hierarchical architecture, in which packet flows traverse a range of processing/forwarding paths. This paper both presents the architecture, and describes our experiences implementing the architecture across a combination of general-purpose and network processors.

A mobile agent's effects on file service

Implementing an application using mobile agents might or might not improve its performance. The authors consider the effect of moving an agent application from a client to a file server. Under what circumstances does application performance improve, and does it come at the expense of other applications using the same server?.

Building extensible routers using network processors

This paper describes our effort to build extensible routers using a combination of general‐purpose and network processors. We emphasize five overriding challenges that dictate our design decisions: (1) optimal resource allocation; (2) efficient but flexible scheduling of the CPU; (3) maintaining overall router robustness; (4) maximizing router performance; and (5) providing sufficient extensibility to enable the injection of new functionality into the router. We adopt a hierarchical architecture, in which packet flows traverse a range of processing/forwarding paths, thereby partitioning hardware and software in concert. This paper both presents the architecture, and describes our experiences implementing the architecture and addressing the five design challenges in a prototype built from Intel IXP 1200 and a Pentium. Copyright