Isolation Mechanisms for High-Speed Packet-Processing Pipelines

Explore isolation mechanisms for high-speed packet-processing pipelines in this NSDI '22 conference talk. Delve into Menshen, an extension of the Reconfigurable Match Tables (RMT) pipeline that enforces isolation between different packet-processing modules. Learn about the lightweight hardware primitives and compiler extensions that enable module isolation without interference. Discover how Menshen has been prototyped on FPGA platforms and its potential for ASIC implementation. Gain insights into data-plane programmability, the need for isolation in multi-module deployments, and the performance implications of Menshen's design. Understand key concepts such as program IDs, overlays, space partitioning, and action engine enhancements. Examine the implementation details, evaluation results, and the impact of reconfiguration on running programs.

Intro
Data-plane programmability is mainstr
Can improve performance for many sy
What is isolation?
Why do existing works not suffice?
How to implement isolation in RMT?
Menshen's high-level approach
Menshen program IDs
Review: How a RMT stage works
Menshen: How overlays work Key extraction enhancements
Menshen: How space partitioning wor Match-action enhancement
Menshen: Action engine enhancemen action entry
Menshen's design principles
Implementation
Evaluation
Can Menshen support multiple prog
Menshen's overall throughput perfo
Does reconfiguration disrupt other pr