Network Emulation with P7: A P4 Programmable Patch Panel on Tofino-based Hardware

Abstract

The use of virtual and software-based environments, such as Mininet, has become popular for network experimentation. However, these platforms often have limitations, including low transmission speeds and trade-offs between scalability and performance fidelity. Advances in P4 programmability and new P4 hardware that supports Tofino Native Architecture (TNA) have enabled the possibility of emulating various network link characteristics and creating network topologies for running line-rate traffic in a single P4 switch (i.e., Tofino). In this paper, we introduce the P7 (P4 Programmable Patch Panel) emulator, which allows the configuration of network scenarios with different link characteristics, including 100G traffic capacities, using a single P4 switch. We demonstrate the scalability and realism of the P7 emulator, making it an ideal environment for network research and experimentation.