Programmable Networks: Selected Challenges in Computer Networking

The convergence of computing and networking is nowhere more evident than in the phenomenal growth of the World Wide Web. In another sense, though, computer networking is being pulled in two opposite directions. On the one hand, the Web's popularity and growth has been fueled largely by desktop applications consuming bandwidth-intensive images and video. On the other hand, thin-client computers are becoming more commonly used as edge-of-network devices, often connected by wireless technology. There is also an increasing mismatch between fiber-optic transmission bandwidths and computer speeds, pushing computing further away from the network core. Are there ways to close, or at least manage, this growing schism-whether through novel hardware solutions or the programmability of network infrastructures? Can we better integrate these edge-of-network devices and make them full-fledged network participants? The paper discusses programmable network challenges.