Reimagining Packet Scheduling: Elevating Network Switches to Air Traffic Control Experts

Cornell and Open University of the Netherlands scholars have developed a programmable network model to modernize the internet’s architecture through software-defined networks. This model allows researchers and network administrators to customize packet scheduling, the air traffic control mechanism built into network switches. The research team focused on the network switch, which powers networks and the internet, to design the next generation of networking hardware-software.

Small pizza box-sized switches govern network data flow and connect devices to a computer network. They schedule packets, which routes data through a network. The switch processes data from thousands of network users, including emails, news site visits, and Zoom calls. The switch’s packet scheduler prioritizes and arranges data clusters according on network manager policies. Finally, the switch forwards packets to nearby switches until they reach the end user’s device.

Researchers claimed changing this air traffic control procedure has been impossible because manufacturers encode scheduling specifications into the switch. Once placed in new network switches, the team’s methodology would allow network administrators to customize the switch’s packet-scheduling software, building on MIT and Stanford researchers’ 2016 solution.