http://p4.org/p4/inband-network-telemetry/
http://p4.org/wp-content/uploads/fixed/INT/INT-current-spec.pdf
the traditional methods for managing networks are almost exclusively based on a client/server or “pull” model. A management device periodically polls the devices of interest for specific data, these requests are handled by the local control plane stack, and the data is collected and sent back. Generations of networks have proven the shortcomings of this model arising from the limitations of CPU-based control planes and an explosive increase in the number of network elements and ports (both virtual and physical) and link bandwidths.
In the INT model, information from the data plane of the network is extracted and exported directly from the data plane – without the overhead or scale limitations of a control plane CPU. Moreover, the information that resides in the data plane is often ephemeral in nature: state on such things as queue depths, packet drops, and routing / ECMP path selections often change within milliseconds, and if they are not tracked or made visible at the data plane the information (or potential problem) goes unnoticed. Having a programmatic interface directly into the data plane is thus a key requirement for the development of these types of applications.
http://p4.org/wp-content/uploads/fixed/INT/INT-current-spec.pdf
the traditional methods for managing networks are almost exclusively based on a client/server or “pull” model. A management device periodically polls the devices of interest for specific data, these requests are handled by the local control plane stack, and the data is collected and sent back. Generations of networks have proven the shortcomings of this model arising from the limitations of CPU-based control planes and an explosive increase in the number of network elements and ports (both virtual and physical) and link bandwidths.
In the INT model, information from the data plane of the network is extracted and exported directly from the data plane – without the overhead or scale limitations of a control plane CPU. Moreover, the information that resides in the data plane is often ephemeral in nature: state on such things as queue depths, packet drops, and routing / ECMP path selections often change within milliseconds, and if they are not tracked or made visible at the data plane the information (or potential problem) goes unnoticed. Having a programmatic interface directly into the data plane is thus a key requirement for the development of these types of applications.
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