Overview

Implemented network functionalities using the P4 programming language, including a Layer 2 (L2) firewall and an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). The project involved setting up a programmable network environment, experimenting with the P4 language, and developing control plane programs.

Objectives

• Familiarize with the P4 language ecosystem.
• Explore control plane APIs.
• Implement a simple L2 firewall using P4.
• Implement a simple intrusion detection system (IDS) using P4.

Key Achievements

Explored and Experimented with the P4 Environment

• Set up a network topology and instantiated a software switch using Mininet and P4.
• Collected basic outputs and traces to understand the network behavior.
• Enabled and inspected PCAP files and packet processing logs for deeper insights.

Developed a Layer 2 (L2) Firewall

• Implemented static MAC address to port mapping.
• Added firewall functionality to block traffic from specific hosts.
• Tested and verified firewall behavior using Mininet commands and log inspections.

Implemented a Stateless and Stateful IDS

• Designed and implemented a stateless IDS to inspect TCP payloads for known malicious signatures.
• Extended the stateless IDS to a stateful IDS that examines multiple packets in a flow to detect distributed signatures.
• Configured control plane scripts to handle IDS alerts and maintain flow state.

Technical Skills Gained

P4 Programming

• Writing P4 programs to define packet processing behavior on programmable switches.
• Using tables, actions, and control flow constructs in P4.

Network Setup and Configuration

• Configuring virtual network environments using VirtualBox/VMWare and Mininet.
• Creating network topologies and managing network interfaces.

Control Plane Development

• Implementing control plane logic using Python.
• Populating and managing P4 table entries via Python APIs.

Packet Analysis

• Capturing and analyzing network traffic using PCAP files and tools like tshark.
• Logging and inspecting packet processing steps to debug and verify network behavior.

Tools and Technologies Used

• P4 Language: For programming network switch behavior.
• Mininet: To create and manage virtual network topologies.
• VirtualBox/VMWare: For setting up virtual machines running the P4 environment.
• tshark: For analyzing packet captures.
• Python: For control plane scripts and network configuration.

Supporting Documents:

Code are available at Github