Kernel- vs. User-Level Networking: A Ballad of Interrupts and How to Mitigate Them

dc.contributor.authorCai, Peter
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-06T17:05:23Z
dc.date.available2023-07-06T17:05:23Z
dc.date.issued2023-07-06
dc.date.submitted2023-06-27
dc.description.abstractNetworking performance has become especially important in the current age with growing demands on services over the Internet. Recent advances in network controllers has exposed bottlenecks in various parts of network processing. User-level networking, which bypasses the operating system's network stack and replaces it with one re-implemented in the userspace, is often framed as a silver bullet to mitigate any performance issues arising in the kernel network stack. However, there is often no comprehensive study on where this performance increase ultimately comes from. This work aims to explore potential areas from which improvements in overall performance can arise. Most importantly, it is identified that asynchronous interrupts and their handling is a major source of overhead associated with the kernel network stack. Several proposals are presented with the goal of reducing the need for interrupts in the kernel network stack, simulating the execution model of user-level networking. It is shown that a small kernel modification with around 30 lines of code change results in a substantial performance increase without the need to replace the kernel network stack in its entirety.en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/19598
dc.language.isoenen
dc.pendingfalse
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectNetworkingen
dc.subjectOperating Systemsen
dc.titleKernel- vs. User-Level Networking: A Ballad of Interrupts and How to Mitigate Themen
dc.typeMaster Thesisen
uws-etd.degreeMaster of Mathematicsen
uws-etd.degree.departmentDavid R. Cheriton School of Computer Scienceen
uws-etd.degree.disciplineComputer Scienceen
uws-etd.degree.grantorUniversity of Waterlooen
uws-etd.embargo.terms0en
uws.contributor.advisorKarsten, Martin
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Mathematicsen
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.published.cityWaterlooen
uws.published.countryCanadaen
uws.published.provinceOntarioen
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Cai_Peter.pdf
Size:
1.02 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
6.4 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: