FLECS: A Data-Driven Framework for Rapid Protocol Prototyping

Abstract

Flecs is a framework for facilitating rapid implementation of communication protocols. Forwarding functionality of protocols can be modeled as a combination of packet processing components called abstract switching elements or Ases. The design of Ases is constrained by the axioms of communication which enables us to formally analyze forwarding mechanisms in communication networks. Ases can be connected in a directed graph to define complex forwarding functionality. We have developed Flecs on top of the Click modular router. The compilers in the Flecs framework translate protocol specifications into its Click implementation. We claim that the use of our framework reduces the implementation time by allowing the programmer to specify Ases and the forwarding configuration in a high-level meta-language and produces reasonably efficient implementations. It allows rapid prototyping through configuration, as well as specialized implementation of performance-critical functionality through inheritance.