PACKET-PROGRAMMABLE STATELETS

• Main Authors: Chunduri, Uma S, Li, Renwei, Clemm, Alexander
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 17.12.2020
• Subjects: ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

A network device includes a statelet storage storing statelets that retain state information associated with a packet flow through the network device and that the network device can interact with to control processing performed on packets of the data flow. The network device implements a set of instructions that interpret commands in the data packets to manage and interact with statelets. The statelets in the statelet storage are organized by a statelet key that is derived from information identifying the packet flow. Responsive to the commands in the packets, the network device can create, read, write, or delete statelets from the statelet storage. The statelet storage includes multiple statelets each statelet including multiple fields. The network device may access the statelets to control/monitor a packet flow using information in a network data plane without receiving control information from a network control plane.