Software data plane performance and efficiency are foundational properties of any NFV and cloud networking system design. They do not only impact network service economics by dictating feasible service density per unit of compute, but can also be a key enabler of new service architectures.
A good example is the cloud-native architecture based on distributed micro-services, that require meshed IP connectivity for scaled-up inter-process communication and data exchange. Those systems heavily rely on service-aware software data plane for L2 switching, IP routing, load balancing and granular in-band policies used for securing all application interactions.
NOTE: This content was contributed by LFN Members Intel and Cisco.
