In-packet Bloom filters: Design and networking applications

TL;DR

This paper explores the design, extensions, and applications of in-packet Bloom filters (iBFs) for networking, aiming to improve their practicality, enable false-negative-free deletion, and enhance security, validated through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces new design extensions for iBFs, enabling better performance, false-negative-free deletion, and security features, supported by extensive simulation validation.

Findings

Enhanced iBF designs improve network application performance

Extensions enable false-negative-free element deletion

Simulations validate the effectiveness of proposed extensions

Abstract

The Bloom filter (BF) is a well-known space-efficient data structure that answers set membership queries with some probability of false positives. In an attempt to solve many of the limitations of current inter-networking architectures, some recent proposals rely on including small BFs in packet headers for routing, security, accountability or other purposes that move application states into the packets themselves. In this paper, we consider the design of such in-packet Bloom filters (iBF). Our main contributions are exploring the design space and the evaluation of a series of extensions (1) to increase the practicality and performance of iBFs, (2) to enable false-negative-free element deletion, and (3) to provide security enhancements. In addition to the theoretical estimates, extensive simulations of the multiple design parameters and implementation alternatives validate the usefulness of the extensions, providing for enhanced and novel iBF networking applications.