uNPE: Unified Network Protocol Encapsulation for Highly Transparent Future Networks

To improve in-band network control and enable the rapid deployment of new protocols, we devise a re-framing scheme that we call unified Network Protocol Encapsulation (uNPE). uNPE maps control information that previously resided in the nested headers of many Internet protocols onto a set of data units unified in a single layer and logically divided into three control groups: connection, network function, and application function. By liberating the control information from the rigid framing of the nested protocol headers, uNPE increases transparency and flexibility for future networks, empowering network control and simplifying the design of new protocols. Using the P4 language for programmable data planes we prototype uNPE and show that it can substantially improve essential network functions such as routing and congestion control.