P4 Transformer: Towards Unified Programming for the Data Plane of Software Defined Network
Zijun Hang, Yongjie Wang, Shuguang Huang · 2021
P4 (Programming Protocol-independent Packet Processors) language provides target-independent programming regardless of the SDN data plane's underlying architecture. However, manufacturers have adapted P4 for their architectures, imposing more restrictions for the standard P4. Consequently, the intention of building a target-independent data plane has been diluted. Accordingly, this paper summarizes three categories of restrictions (branch, state, and primitive) and their differences in the standard P4 and programmable switch. We devised the P4 Transformer to remove the barrier to running standard P4 on a commodity switch, making a step towards unified high- level programming for the SDN data plane. Besides, the P4 Transformer enables originally invalid programs on the switch, thus making the switch more powerful.