Range Encoding and Hash table based Packet Classification for Global View Networking

Packet classification is an important functionality of the Internet router for many network applications. With the emergence of software-defined networking (SDN), packet classification for global view networking is used to search the actions taken at multiple routers, not only at a single router. The control plane provides a global view of the network, which allows applications to identify the network-wide behavior of a packet, defined as the combination of actions taken at all routers. In this paper, we propose a two-layer scheme named range encoding hash table (REHT) that can search the network-wide behaviors of packets efficiently. In layer one, the header field values of all fields are encoded separately. In layer two, hash tables are used for the encoded values to achieve high classification speed. Based on our experiments using real network configurations, REHT performs much faster than BDDs and MDD schemes.