Time-Multiplexed Parsing in Marking-based Network Telemetry

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel time-multiplexed parsing method for Alternate Marking Performance Measurement, enabling accurate network telemetry with minimal overhead using only one bit per packet, demonstrated through hardware and software implementations.

Contribution

It introduces a practical, single-bit, time-multiplexed parsing approach for AM-PM, improving efficiency and feasibility in network devices.

Findings

Hardware implementation validates the approach.

Software P4 implementation demonstrates practicality.

Achieves accurate measurement with minimal overhead.

Abstract

Network telemetry is a key capability for managing the health and efficiency of a large-scale network. Alternate Marking Performance Measurement (AM-PM) is a recently introduced approach that accurately measures the packet loss and delay in a network using a small overhead of one or two bits per data packet. This paper introduces a novel time-multiplexed parsing approach that enables a practical and accurate implementation of AM-PM in network devices, while requiring just a single bit per packet. Experimental results are presented, based on a hardware implementation, and a software P4-based implementation.