FlexGate
Kun Qian, Sai Ma, Mao Miao, Jianyuan Lu, Tong Zhang, Peilong Wang, Chenghao Sun, Fengyuan Ren · 2019
Large-scale data centers support various applications and process/issue terabits per second traffic from/to Internet. On the boundary of data center, the gateway needs to execute a series of network functions for each incoming packet. The Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology leverages commodity servers to flexibly implement network functions. This solution provides satisfying processing and storage capability. However, state-of-the-art NFV platforms can merely process network functions at the line rate of 10~40Gbps. Supporting throughput of terabits per second requires dozens or even hundreds of servers operating exclusively for network functions, which is not only expensive but also difficult to maintain. On the other hand, programmable packet processing hardwares proposed in recent years offer a new platform for implementing network functions. They can execute user-defined packet processing logics at ultra-high line rate while containing limited processing and storage resources.