Bowman: a node OS for active networks

Abstract

Bowman is an extensible platform for active networking: it layers active networking functionality in user space software over variants of the System V UNIX operating system. The packet processing path implemented in Bowman incorporates an efficient and flexible packet classification algorithm, supports multi-threaded per-flow processing, and utilizes real time processor scheduling to achieve deterministic performance in the user-space. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of Bowman; discuss the support that Bowman provides for implementing execution environments for active networking; discuss the network-level architecture of Bowman that can be used to implement virtual networks; and present performance data showing that Bowman is able to sustain 100 Mbps throughput while forwarding IP packets over fast Ethernets.