Network processors are used in the core node of network to flexibly process packet streams. With the increase of performance, the power of network processor increases fast, and power and cooling become a bottleneck. A...Network processors are used in the core node of network to flexibly process packet streams. With the increase of performance, the power of network processor increases fast, and power and cooling become a bottleneck. Architecture-level power conscious design must go beyond low-level circuit design. Architectural power and performance tradeoff should be considered at the same time. Simulation is an efficient method to design modem network processor before making chip. In order to achieve the tradeoff between performance and power, the processor simulator is used to design the architecture of network processor. Using Netbeneh, Commubench benchmark and processor simulator-SimpleScalar, the performance and power of network processor are quantitatively evaluated. New performance tradeoff evaluation metric is proposed to analyze the architecture of network processor. Based on the high performance lnteI IXP 2800 Network processor eonfignration, optimized instruction fetch width and speed ,instruction issue width, instruction window size are analyzed and selected. Simulation resuits show that the tradeoff design method makes the usage of network processor more effectively. The optimal key parameters of network processor are important in architecture-level design. It is meaningful for the next generation network processor design.展开更多
As the traditional RISC+ASIC/ASSP approach for network processor design can not meet the today’s requirements, this paper described an alternate approach, Reconfigurable Processing Architecture, to boost the performa...As the traditional RISC+ASIC/ASSP approach for network processor design can not meet the today’s requirements, this paper described an alternate approach, Reconfigurable Processing Architecture, to boost the performance to ASIC level while reserve the programmability of the traditional RISC based system. This paper covers both the hardware architecture and the software development environment architecture.展开更多
Virtualization is the key technology of cloud computing. Network virtualization plays an important role in this field. Its performance is very relevant to network virtualizing. Nowadays its implementations are mainly ...Virtualization is the key technology of cloud computing. Network virtualization plays an important role in this field. Its performance is very relevant to network virtualizing. Nowadays its implementations are mainly based on the idea of Software Define Network (SDN). Open vSwitch is a sort of software virtual switch, which conforms to the OpenFlow protocol standard. It is basically deployed in the Linux kernel hypervisor. This leads to its performance relatively poor because of the limited system resource. In turn, the packet process throughput is very low.In this paper, we present a Cavium-based Open vSwitch implementation. The Cavium platform features with multi cores and couples of hard ac-celerators. It supports zero-copy of packets and handles packet more quickly. We also carry some experiments on the platform. It indicates that we can use it in the enterprise network or campus network as convergence layer and core layer device.展开更多
Network processors (NPs) are widely used for programmable and high-performance networks;however, the programs for NPs are less portable, the number of NP program developers is small, and the development cost is high. ...Network processors (NPs) are widely used for programmable and high-performance networks;however, the programs for NPs are less portable, the number of NP program developers is small, and the development cost is high. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an open, high-level, and portable programming language called “Phonepl”, which is independent from vendor-specific proprietary hardware and software but can be translated into an NP program with high performance especially in the memory use. A common NP hardware feature is that a whole packet is stored in DRAM, but the header is cached in SRAM. Phonepl has a hardware-independent abstraction of this feature so that it allows programmers mostly unconscious of this hardware feature. To implement the abstraction, four representations of packet data type that cover all the packet operations (including substring, concatenation, input, and output) are introduced. Phonepl have been implemented on Octeon NPs used in plug-ins for a network-virtualization environment called the VNode Infrastructure, and several packet-handling programs were evaluated. As for the evaluation result, the conversion throughput is close to the wire rate, i.e., 10 Gbps, and no packet loss (by cache miss) occurs when the packet size is 256 bytes or larger.展开更多
With the explosion of network bandwidth and the ever-changing requirements for diverse network-based applications,the traditional processing architectures,i.e.,general purpose processor（GPP） and application specific...With the explosion of network bandwidth and the ever-changing requirements for diverse network-based applications,the traditional processing architectures,i.e.,general purpose processor（GPP） and application specific integrated circuits（ASIC） cannot provide sufficient flexibility and high performance at the same time.Thus,the network processor（NP） has emerged as an alternative to meet these dual demands for today＇s network processing.The NP combines embedded multi-threaded cores with a rich memory hierarchy that can adapt to different networking circumstances when customized by the application developers.In today＇s NP architectures,multithreading prevails over cache mechanism,which has achieved great success in GPP to hide memory access latencies.This paper focuses on the efficiency of the cache mechanism in an NP.Theoretical timing models of packet processing are established for evaluating cache efficiency and experiments are performed based on real-life network backbone traces.Testing results show that an improvement of nearly 70% can be gained in throughput with assistance from the cache mechanism.Accordingly,the cache mechanism is still efficient and irreplaceable in network processing,despite the existing of multithreading.展开更多
This paper describes a solution to build network-processor-based Radio Network Controller (RNC) in all-IP wireless networks, it includes the structure of the 3rd Generation (3G) wireless networks and the role of netw...This paper describes a solution to build network-processor-based Radio Network Controller (RNC) in all-IP wireless networks, it includes the structure of the 3rd Generation (3G) wireless networks and the role of network nodes, such as Base Station (BS), RNC, and Packet-Switched Core Networks (PSCN). The architecture of IXP2800 network processor; the detailed implementation of the solution on IXP2800-based RNC are also covered. This solution can provide scalable IP forward features and it will be widely used in 3G RNCs.展开更多
Today＇s firewalls and security gateways are required to not only block unauthorized accesses by authenticating packet headers, but also inspect flow payloads against malicious intrusions. Deep inspection emerges as a...Today＇s firewalls and security gateways are required to not only block unauthorized accesses by authenticating packet headers, but also inspect flow payloads against malicious intrusions. Deep inspection emerges as a seamless integration of packet classification for access control and pattern matching for intrusion prevention. The two function blocks are linked together via well-designed session lookup schemes. This paper presents an architecture-aware session lookup scheme for deep inspection on network processors （NPs）. Test results show that the proposed session data structure and integration approach can achieve the OC-48 line rate （2.5 Gbps） with inline stateful content inspection on the Intel IXP2850 NP. This work provides an insight into application design and implementation on NPs and principles for performance tuning of NP-based programming such as data allocation, task partitioning, latency hiding, and thread synchronization.展开更多
High-performance network processors are expected to play an important role in future high-speed routers. This paper focuses on two representative techniques needed for high-performance network processors: hardwired lo...High-performance network processors are expected to play an important role in future high-speed routers. This paper focuses on two representative techniques needed for high-performance network processors: hardwired logic design and multithread design. Using hardwired logic, this paper compares a single-thread design with a multithread design, and proposes general models and principles to analyze the clock frequency and the resource cost for these environments. Then, two IP header processing schemes, one in single-thread mode and the other in double-thread mode, are developed using these principles and the implementation results verified the theoretical calculation.展开更多
The availability of computers and communication networks allows us to gather and analyse data on a far larger scale than previously. At present, it is believed that statistics is a suitable method to analyse networks ...The availability of computers and communication networks allows us to gather and analyse data on a far larger scale than previously. At present, it is believed that statistics is a suitable method to analyse networks with millions, or more, of vertices. The MATLAB language, with its mass of statistical functions, is a good choice to rapidly realize an algorithm prototype of complex networks. The performance of the MATLAB codes can be further improved by using graphic processor units （GPU）. This paper presents the strategies and performance of the GPU implementation of a complex networks package, and the Jacket toolbox of MATLAB is used. Compared with some commercially available CPU implementations, GPU can achieve a speedup of, on average, 11.3x. The experimental result proves that the GPU platform combined with the MATLAB language is a good combination for complex network research.展开更多
Processors have been playing important roles in both communication infrastructure systems and terminals.In this paper,both application specific and general purpose processors for communications are discussed including...Processors have been playing important roles in both communication infrastructure systems and terminals.In this paper,both application specific and general purpose processors for communications are discussed including the roles,the history,the current situations,and the trends.One trend is that ASIPs(Application Specific Instruction-set Processors) are taking over ASICs(Application Specific Integrated Circuits) because of the increasing needs both on performance and compatibility of multi-modes.The trend opened opportunities for researchers crossing the boundary between communications and computer architecture.Another trend is the serverlization,i.e.,more infrastructure equipments are replaced by servers.The trend opened opportunities for researchers working towards high performance computing for communication,such as research on communication algorithm kernels and real time programming methods on servers.展开更多
基金Sponsored by the National Defence Research Foundation of China(Grant No.413460303).
文摘Network processors are used in the core node of network to flexibly process packet streams. With the increase of performance, the power of network processor increases fast, and power and cooling become a bottleneck. Architecture-level power conscious design must go beyond low-level circuit design. Architectural power and performance tradeoff should be considered at the same time. Simulation is an efficient method to design modem network processor before making chip. In order to achieve the tradeoff between performance and power, the processor simulator is used to design the architecture of network processor. Using Netbeneh, Commubench benchmark and processor simulator-SimpleScalar, the performance and power of network processor are quantitatively evaluated. New performance tradeoff evaluation metric is proposed to analyze the architecture of network processor. Based on the high performance lnteI IXP 2800 Network processor eonfignration, optimized instruction fetch width and speed ,instruction issue width, instruction window size are analyzed and selected. Simulation resuits show that the tradeoff design method makes the usage of network processor more effectively. The optimal key parameters of network processor are important in architecture-level design. It is meaningful for the next generation network processor design.
文摘As the traditional RISC+ASIC/ASSP approach for network processor design can not meet the today’s requirements, this paper described an alternate approach, Reconfigurable Processing Architecture, to boost the performance to ASIC level while reserve the programmability of the traditional RISC based system. This paper covers both the hardware architecture and the software development environment architecture.
文摘Virtualization is the key technology of cloud computing. Network virtualization plays an important role in this field. Its performance is very relevant to network virtualizing. Nowadays its implementations are mainly based on the idea of Software Define Network (SDN). Open vSwitch is a sort of software virtual switch, which conforms to the OpenFlow protocol standard. It is basically deployed in the Linux kernel hypervisor. This leads to its performance relatively poor because of the limited system resource. In turn, the packet process throughput is very low.In this paper, we present a Cavium-based Open vSwitch implementation. The Cavium platform features with multi cores and couples of hard ac-celerators. It supports zero-copy of packets and handles packet more quickly. We also carry some experiments on the platform. It indicates that we can use it in the enterprise network or campus network as convergence layer and core layer device.
文摘Network processors (NPs) are widely used for programmable and high-performance networks;however, the programs for NPs are less portable, the number of NP program developers is small, and the development cost is high. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an open, high-level, and portable programming language called “Phonepl”, which is independent from vendor-specific proprietary hardware and software but can be translated into an NP program with high performance especially in the memory use. A common NP hardware feature is that a whole packet is stored in DRAM, but the header is cached in SRAM. Phonepl has a hardware-independent abstraction of this feature so that it allows programmers mostly unconscious of this hardware feature. To implement the abstraction, four representations of packet data type that cover all the packet operations (including substring, concatenation, input, and output) are introduced. Phonepl have been implemented on Octeon NPs used in plug-ins for a network-virtualization environment called the VNode Infrastructure, and several packet-handling programs were evaluated. As for the evaluation result, the conversion throughput is close to the wire rate, i.e., 10 Gbps, and no packet loss (by cache miss) occurs when the packet size is 256 bytes or larger.
基金Supported by the Basic Research Foundation of Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology (TNList)the National High-Tech Research and Development (863) Program of China (No.2007AA01Z468)
文摘With the explosion of network bandwidth and the ever-changing requirements for diverse network-based applications,the traditional processing architectures,i.e.,general purpose processor（GPP） and application specific integrated circuits（ASIC） cannot provide sufficient flexibility and high performance at the same time.Thus,the network processor（NP） has emerged as an alternative to meet these dual demands for today＇s network processing.The NP combines embedded multi-threaded cores with a rich memory hierarchy that can adapt to different networking circumstances when customized by the application developers.In today＇s NP architectures,multithreading prevails over cache mechanism,which has achieved great success in GPP to hide memory access latencies.This paper focuses on the efficiency of the cache mechanism in an NP.Theoretical timing models of packet processing are established for evaluating cache efficiency and experiments are performed based on real-life network backbone traces.Testing results show that an improvement of nearly 70% can be gained in throughput with assistance from the cache mechanism.Accordingly,the cache mechanism is still efficient and irreplaceable in network processing,despite the existing of multithreading.
文摘This paper describes a solution to build network-processor-based Radio Network Controller (RNC) in all-IP wireless networks, it includes the structure of the 3rd Generation (3G) wireless networks and the role of network nodes, such as Base Station (BS), RNC, and Packet-Switched Core Networks (PSCN). The architecture of IXP2800 network processor; the detailed implementation of the solution on IXP2800-based RNC are also covered. This solution can provide scalable IP forward features and it will be widely used in 3G RNCs.
基金Supported by the Basic Research Foundation of Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology (TNList)the National High-Tech Research and Development (863) Programof China (No. 2007AA01Z468)
文摘Today＇s firewalls and security gateways are required to not only block unauthorized accesses by authenticating packet headers, but also inspect flow payloads against malicious intrusions. Deep inspection emerges as a seamless integration of packet classification for access control and pattern matching for intrusion prevention. The two function blocks are linked together via well-designed session lookup schemes. This paper presents an architecture-aware session lookup scheme for deep inspection on network processors （NPs）. Test results show that the proposed session data structure and integration approach can achieve the OC-48 line rate （2.5 Gbps） with inline stateful content inspection on the Intel IXP2850 NP. This work provides an insight into application design and implementation on NPs and principles for performance tuning of NP-based programming such as data allocation, task partitioning, latency hiding, and thread synchronization.
基金Supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development (863) Program of China (No. 863-300-01-99) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 60173009)
文摘High-performance network processors are expected to play an important role in future high-speed routers. This paper focuses on two representative techniques needed for high-performance network processors: hardwired logic design and multithread design. Using hardwired logic, this paper compares a single-thread design with a multithread design, and proposes general models and principles to analyze the clock frequency and the resource cost for these environments. Then, two IP header processing schemes, one in single-thread mode and the other in double-thread mode, are developed using these principles and the implementation results verified the theoretical calculation.
基金Project supported by the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.60921062)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.60873014)the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.61003082 and 60903059)
文摘The availability of computers and communication networks allows us to gather and analyse data on a far larger scale than previously. At present, it is believed that statistics is a suitable method to analyse networks with millions, or more, of vertices. The MATLAB language, with its mass of statistical functions, is a good choice to rapidly realize an algorithm prototype of complex networks. The performance of the MATLAB codes can be further improved by using graphic processor units （GPU）. This paper presents the strategies and performance of the GPU implementation of a complex networks package, and the Jacket toolbox of MATLAB is used. Compared with some commercially available CPU implementations, GPU can achieve a speedup of, on average, 11.3x. The experimental result proves that the GPU platform combined with the MATLAB language is a good combination for complex network research.
基金The National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China(863 Program)2014AA01A705
文摘Processors have been playing important roles in both communication infrastructure systems and terminals.In this paper,both application specific and general purpose processors for communications are discussed including the roles,the history,the current situations,and the trends.One trend is that ASIPs(Application Specific Instruction-set Processors) are taking over ASICs(Application Specific Integrated Circuits) because of the increasing needs both on performance and compatibility of multi-modes.The trend opened opportunities for researchers crossing the boundary between communications and computer architecture.Another trend is the serverlization,i.e.,more infrastructure equipments are replaced by servers.The trend opened opportunities for researchers working towards high performance computing for communication,such as research on communication algorithm kernels and real time programming methods on servers.
