NetFPGA: A Tool for Network Research and Education

This paper describes a programmable hardware designed to allow rapid prototype of new hardware switch and router designs. This hardware is built-up from components commonly used for research and education outside of the networking space; the second version described in the paper uses a standard PCI bus for control and provides four gigabit ethernet outputs, so it is practical for researchers to deploy and can handle convincingly large amounts of load.

The research need filled by NetFPGA is an obvious one: most deployed networks work in large part using specialized hardware. Networking researchers typically did not have the means to create or modify hardware routers, so new ideas were tested with software routers. When tests with software routers yielded subpar performance, as they often do, authors would often argue that next-generation hardware routers or switches would be able to provide the functionality easily and without any loss of performance. NetFPGA allows these researchers to stop the hand-waving.