The Case for Network Accelerated Query Processing

The fastest plans in MPP databases are usually those with the least amount of data movement across nodes, as data is not processed while in transit. The network switches that connect MPP nodes are hard-wired to perform packetforwarding logic only. However, in a recent paradigm shift, network devices are becoming “programmable.” The quotes here are cautionary. Switches are not becoming general purpose computers (just yet). But now the set of tasks they can perform can be encoded in software. In this paper we explore this programmability to accelerate OLAP queries. We determined that we can offload onto the switch some very common and expensive query patterns. Thus, for the first time, moving data through networking equipment can contribute to query execution. Our preliminary results show that we can improve response times on even the best agreed upon plans by more than 2x using 25 Gbps networks. We also see the promise of linear performance improvement with faster speeds. The use of programmable switches can open new possibilities of architecting rackand datacenter-sized database systems, with implications across the stack.