OpenVAS:A Southbound Interface Protocol For Networked FPGA

FPGA is flexible and reconfigurable,which has a wide range of application prospects in the network.However,the flexibility and scalability of traditional FPGA deployment is limited and the cost is high.On this basis,we further separate the hardware and software of the network equipment,and propose the independent network device-Networked FPGA(refered to as NF).NF refers to the independent network device based on FPGA,in which there is no CPU.NF can enhance FPGA deployment flexibility in network and reduce cost.However,the lack of software processing capability makes the NF face two major challenges: 1)remote hardware management and control;2)reliable communication.In response to these challenges,this paper proposes a southbound interface protocol OpenVAS(Open Virtual Address Space)for NF.This paper has these following main works and contributions:1.The concept and model of networked FPGA are proposed,and according to the challenges of NF deployment,the OpenVAS protocol is proposed.NF is an independent network device with no control CPU,taking FPGA as the core.The use of NF in the network can improve the convenience of FPGA deployment,greatly reducing the cost of FPGA deployment,and effectively solving the problem of traditional FPGA deployment.In the NF architecture,the independent FPGA realizes the data processing plane of the network equipment,constituting the distributed network equipment,which is managed by a centralized controller.NF can achieve different data processing plan and realize specific function acceleration according to different application environment;the controller can run NF management and control protocols and provide support for various network services;users can implement different network applications based on the network services provided by the controller.Through virtual address space,OpenVAS decouples network hardware and software,realizes hardware resource mapping and solves the problem of NF remote management and control.By means of asymmetric transmission mechanism,the problem of reliable transmission of message is solved under the condition of the lack of software processing ability of NF,which ensures the correct implementation of control behavior.By providing a flexible southbound interface and an easy-to-use application programming interface,OpenVAS provides more availability and control flexibility.2.The OpenVAS implementation model has been designed in detail,including the basic functions,working principles and concrete design of OpenVAS components.By analyzing the management and control behavior of the NF,this paper designs the OpenVAS south interface in detail,which has the data plane control capability equivalent to OpenFlow and enables the controller to control the NF flexibly and conveniently.3.The OpenVAS prototype system is implemented and evaluated.Test results show that OpenVAS can provide high communication bandwidth and achieve the remote management control of NF.In summary,in order to solve the problem of flexible deployment of FPGA,this paper presents the southbound interface protocol OpenVAS for the NF.This protocol has low complexity,high openness and flexibility,and can be directly supported by FPGA hardware.It is of theoretical and practical value for the design and implementation of ToR switch based on NF.