What is VPP?

The FD.io VPP platform is an extensible framework that provides out-of-the-box production quality switch/router functionality. The FD.io’s Vector Packet Processing (VPP) technology is a high performance, packet-processing stack that can run on commodity CPUs.

The benefits of this implementation of FD.io VPP are its high performance, proven technology, its modularity and flexibility, and rich feature set.

Note

Todo: Will add more detail on vendors later, line that was ommitted: “FD.io VPP is a productized commercial-grade network stack that has been use in products since 2002, by a number of vendors including Cisco and ZTE.”

Note

Todo: Have a short definition of a graph node

It is a modular design. The framework allows anyone to “plug in” new graph nodes without the need to change core code.

Packet Processing Layer in High Level Overview of Networking Stack

• What is vector packet processing?
• FD.io VPP at 10,000 Feet
• Modular, Flexible, and Extensible
• Programmability
  • Local Programmability
  • Remote Programmability
    • ODL Honeycomb Agent
• Primary Characteristics of FD.io VPP
  • Improved fault-tolerance and ISSU
  • Runs as a Linux user-space process:
  • Integrated with the DPDK, FD.io VPP supports existing NIC devices including:
  • Security issues considered:
• Software Architecture
  • Implemetation taxonomy
  • Vppinfra
    • Vectors
    • Bitmaps
    • Pools
    • Hashes
    • Format
    • Unformat
    • Vppinfra errors and warnings
    • Serialization
    • Event-logger, graphical event log viewer
    • G2 graphical event viewer
  • VLIB
    • Init function discovery
    • Node Graph Initialization
    • Graph node dispatcher
    • Process / thread model
    • Process events
    • Buffers
    • Shared-memory message API
    • Plug-ins
    • Debug CLI
    • Packet tracer
  • Vnet
    • Effective graph dispatch function coding
    • Single/dual loops