Splits stream handlers: deploying application-level services to attached network processors

  • Authors:
  • Ada Gavrilovska;Karsten Schwan

  • Affiliations:
  • -;-

  • Venue:
  • Splits stream handlers: deploying application-level services to attached network processors
  • Year:
  • 2004

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Abstract

Modern distributed applications utilize a rich variety of distributed services. Due to the computation-centric notions of modern machines, application-level implementations of these services are problematic for applications requiring high data transfer rates, for reasons that include the inability of modern architectures to efficiently execute computations with communication. Conversely, network-level implementations of services are limited due to the network's inability to interpret application-level data or execute application-level operations on such data. The emergence of programmable network processors capable of high-rate data transfers, with flexible interfaces for external reconfiguration, has created new possibilities for movement of processing into the network infrastructure. This thesis explores the extent to which programmable network processors can be used in conjunction with standard host nodes, to form enhanced computational host-ANP (Attached Network Processor) platforms that can deliver increased efficiency for variety of applications and services. The main contributions of this research are the creation of SPLITS, a Software architecture for Programmable LIghtweighT Stream handling, dynamic configuration of data paths through the host-ANP nodes, and the dynamic creation, deployment and reconfiguration of application-level processing applied along these paths. With SPLITS, application-specific services can be dynamically mapped to the host, ANP, or both, to best exploit their joint capabilities. activities are stream handlers—parameterizable, lightweight, computation units that operate on data headers as well as application-level content. Experimental results demonstrate performance gains of executing various application-level services on ANPs, and demonstrate the importance of the SPLITS host-ANP nodes to support dynamically reconfigurable services, and to deal with the resource limitations on the ANPs.