P4Muse: Enabling Modular P4 Programming via Compiler-Managed Code Merging Without Syntax Modifications

Domain-specific programming languages such as P4 enable flexible and high-performance packet processing for programming network data planes. However, many P4 programs remain monolithic, limiting the development of modular and reusable protocols and libraries. Introducing modularity to P4 has proven...

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Veröffentlicht in:IEEE access Jg. 13; S. 124138 - 124157
Hauptverfasser: Rahmati, Mohsen, Boyer, Francois-Raymond, Pontikakis, Bill, Pierre David, Jean, Savaria, Yvon
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Piscataway IEEE 2025
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Schlagworte:
Annotations
BMv2
Codes
Compatibility
compiler
Compilers
composability
Extensibility
incremental programming
intermediate representation
Merging
Modular design
Modularity
Pipelines
Program processors
Programmable data planes
Programming
Programming languages
Protocols
reusability
Switches
Syntactics
Syntax
vendor-customer framework
Virtualization
ISSN:2169-3536, 2169-3536
Online-Zugang:Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:Domain-specific programming languages such as P4 enable flexible and high-performance packet processing for programming network data planes. However, many P4 programs remain monolithic, limiting the development of modular and reusable protocols and libraries. Introducing modularity to P4 has proven challenging, as existing approaches-such as trans-compilers and virtualization-often sidestep direct integration with the P4 language and compiler, constraining backward compatibility and extensibility. This paper introduces P4Muse (P4 Modularity and Unification for Seamless Extensibility), an open-source P4C compiler extension that enhances the modularity of P4 without requiring new syntax or annotations. P4Muse is developed by integrating new compiler passes for automatic code merging, fostering modular design and reuse. We demonstrate its benefits through three classes of use cases that support P4 modularity, enabling code reusability, data plane pipeline composition, and vendor-customer compatibility. using the V1Model architecture and the BMv2 software switch. Our results show that P4Muse effectively supports modular P4 program development without altering existing P4 syntax, providing a robust solution that significantly improves code reusability, flexibility, and extensibility while maintaining backward compatibility.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:2169-3536
2169-3536
DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3589353