Flow-Aware Service Function Embedding Algorithm in Programmable Data Plane

Service function chaining (SFC) is an indispensable technique for Internet service providers to efficiently manage their networks. However, SFC poses requirements of additional processing time of service functions (SFs) and increased routing time owing to detoured paths. In this paper, we introduce the use of a programmable data plane (PDP) to reduce the additional processing and routing times in SFC. We first classify the existing PDP-empowered SFC schemes and analyze their pros and cons. An optimization problem, to find the optimal SF embedding strategy minimizing the SFC completion time while efficiently utilizing the PDP switch resources, is formulated and a flow-aware SF embedding (FASE) algorithm that complementarily combines the redundant SF and re-circulation approaches is devised. FASE is implemented over a commercial PDP switch and experimental results demonstrate that FASE can reduce the SFC completion time by up to 33% compared with conventional approaches while utilizing the switch resources efficiently.