A scalable distributed routing protocol for networks with data-path services

Advanced packet processing functions in the data path of routers are commonly used in the current Internet and are likely to expand in next-generation networks. One of the key challenges related to such “network services” is to develop a suitable control plane infrastructure for routing and connection setup. In this paper, we present a novel distributed algorithm and routing protocol to facilitate allocation of services during connection setup. The protocol is scalable for deployment in large networks and can obtain globally optimal solutions for a single service and approximate solutions for two or more services. We have implemented a prototype on Emulab to evaluate the proposed protocol. Our implementation shows that the proposed protocol is indeed an effective and scalable solution to the routing problem in networks with data-path services.