P4 Programming Training Course

Overview

P4 is an open source programming language that provides a top-down solution to network operations. P4 lets users tell data plane devices how to process packets for convenient management of network systems.

This instructor-led, live training (online or onsite) is aimed at networking engineers and developers who wish to configure, execute and manage programmable networking resources using P4.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Learn the fundamentals of the P4 language.
• Program network devices.
• Set up a server for traffic management.
• Compile and execute a P4 program to control plane applications.
• Manage network congestion using monitoring and debugging methods.

Format of the Course

• Interactive lecture and discussion.
• Lots of exercises and practice.
• Hands-on implementation in a live-lab environment.

Course Customization Options

• To request a customized training for this course, please contact us to arrange.

Requirements

• Basic understanding of software-defined networking
• Experience in programming

Audience

• Network engineers
• Developers

Course Outline

Introduction

Overview of P4 Programming Features and Architecture

• Function blocks and interfaces
• Top-down control and design

Programming with the P4 Language

• Protocol-independent switch architecture (PISA)
• Language elements
• Data types

Creating the Server

• Host configuration
• Basic forwarding
• Basic tunneling

Configuring the P4 Software Switch

• Building the P4 compiler
• Installing the software switch

Compiling the P4 Program

• Writing a P4 program over Ethernet packets
• Software switch target

Executing the P4 Program

• Starting the software switch
• Ethernet interface configuration
• CLI commands

Working with P4Runtime

• Runtime control
• Remote and local controls

Monitoring the Network

• Explicit congestion notification (ECN)
• Multi-route inspection

Troubleshooting

Summary and Conclusion