Master Thesis: Programmable networking units using P4 i Göteborg

Master thesis work at SAAB  Surveillance, Radar Engineering/X Innovation Lab 2020

Complex systems, like radars, consists of a growing number of sensors, computers and storage nodes that interact to deliver the desired functionality. As processing power and data storage increase, so does the need for low latency networking.  Currently, this is becoming a problem, since the network has to be designed with the greatest requirement of the system as a base case, meaning that we need to spend large sums of money on equipment that will mostly be close to idle.

With the advent of software defined networks (SDN) and the network programming language P4, this is about to change. It is now possible to create network solutions that dynamically change depending on the need of the system. It is also possible to shape asymmetric networks, so that parts of the network allows high bandwidth flows with low latency while other communication between the same nodes can use less prioritized flows.

1.       How can SAAB use SDN and P4 to create modular and flexible network solutions in high performance radar systems?

2.       Is SDN and P4 secure enough to use in military grade systems?

3.       Does SDN and/or P4 introduce new security concerns into a system?

This master thesis work aims at investigating and creating a framework for using P4 to develop the future network architecture to be used in both ground based and airborne radar solutions.

The work will be divided into three parts. The first is a study of the P4 language to find the current level of maturity and performance of the implementations that are available. The second will take the result from the first part to create a framework of rules, tools and implementations to create a dynamic and flexible network solution for a radar system. Finally, this framework is used to create a demo of what we could achieve in future systems.

The work is expected to deliver the following:

a)       An overview of current status if SDN and P4

b)      A basic framework of tools and applications (SW and HW) that can be used within SAAB to create high performance and secure networks

c)       A demo implementation of said framework

d)      Suggestions on how to proceed, either with further studies or industrialization of the work done

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