Streaming data-driven forwarding in polymorphic network

In recent years, rapid advancements in communication technology have highlighted the shortcomings of the traditional transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) network architecture. New network architecture protocols have been proposed in response to the evolving landscape, where multiple modal networks are expected to coexist for an extended period. Traditional network forwarding solutions struggle to adapt to the dynamic nature of polymorphic network, leading to issues such as high latency and costs. Based on this, a flow data-driven polymorphic network forwarding scheme and a reinforcement learning-based algorithm tailored for polymorphic network were proposed. Addressing the dynamic nature of polymorphic network, a polymorphic network forwarding scheme based on programmable data planes was proposed. This scheme comprised the in-band network telemetry (INT) collection module responsible for network information gathering, the network flow processing module for parsing and filtering network flows, the modal processing module for identifying and routing polymorphic network flows, the service function module for providing network functions, the data forwarding module for routing data, the cache module for data storage, and the node control module for generating and deploying forwarding strategies. Leveraging the protocol-independent nature of the programming protocol-independent packet processors (P4) programming language, this scheme facilitated the coexistence of multiple network modes and enhances forwarding efficiency through programmable switch hardware. Furthermore, considering the data update mechanism of programmable switches using tables, a reinforcement learning-based algorithm for polymorphic network forwarding was proposed. Adapting to the constraints of programmable hardware, this algorithm selects appropriate forwarding ports based on the state of polymorphic network flows to achieve efficient forwarding. Finally, the implementation and testing of the forwarding algorithm was conducted in China Environment for Network Innovation (CENI), validating the effectiveness of the algorithm.