Enabling P4 Hands-on Training in an Academic Cloud
Jose Gomez, Elie F. Kfoury, Jorge Crichigno · 2022
This paper describes a cloud infrastructure and virtual laboratories on P4 programmable data plane switches. P4 programmable data planes emerged as a technology that enables innovation in networking. P4 is a programming language used to describe how network packets are processed. This paper explains an entry-level training library on P4. The virtual laboratories introduce the learner to P4 and data plane concepts by providing step-by-step guides and exercises. The virtual laboratories are hosted in the Academic Cloud, a distributed platform that manages and orchestrates computing resources. Additionally, the paper describes a work in progress of P4 virtual laboratories that uses Intel Tofino switches. Lastly, the paper discusses the use of the Academic Cloud as a network testbed.