Programmable packet processing is increasingly implemented using kernel bypass techniques, where a userspace application takes complete control of the networking hardware to avoid expensive context switches between kernel and userspace. However, as the operating system is bypassed, so are its application isolation and security mechanisms; and well-tested configuration, deployment and management tools cease to function.

Most networking performance enhancements occur through specific static solutions, where the structure of the protocol stack remains unchanged. Instead, we focus on a flexible software and hardware co-design for the entire protocol stack. In this paper, we present EmbedNet, a System-on-Chip implementation of a flexible network architecture for the Future Internet, where parts of the protocol stack can be moved between software and hardware at runtime. This enables the construction of dynamic protocol stacks that use available resources optimally.

Network programming is widely understood as programming strictly defined socket interfaces. Only some frameworks have made a step towards real network programming by decomposing networking functionality into small modular blocks that can be assembled in a flexible manner. In this paper, we tackle the challenge of accommodating 3 partially conflicting objectives: (i) high flexibility for network programmers, (ii) re-configuration of the network stack at runtime, and (iii) high packet forwarding rates. First experiences with a prototype implementation in Linux suggest little performance overhead compared to the standard Linux protocol stack.