Intel® P4 Suite for FPGA
The Intel® P4 Suite for FPGA automates the generation of packet-processing IP and adapts the P4 Architecture to reflect the flexibility of FPGAs using networking hardware and software.
Overview
The Intel® P4 Suite for FPGA is a high-level design tool that:
- uses P4, an open-source, domain-specific language that describes how a networking data plane device processes a packet.
- automates the generation of packet-processing RTL IP.
- can be used across a wide range of networking hardware and software.
The tool consists of:
- A compiler that generates RTL from a P4 program.
- An FPGA Software Framework that provides a software Application Programming Interface (API) that controls the P4-generated RTL at runtime.
Key Features
P4 Support
Design your network applications with minimal hardware knowledge using the industry standard P4 language for benefits in protocol independence, customization, simplified hardware abstraction, improved performance, and cost reduction with Intel FPGAs.
Customizable
It supports fully custom P4 Architectures, providing enhanced flexibility and custom IP interoperability. This allows for optimized performance and cost efficiency, enabling adaptable, efficient performance-optimized network solutions.
Adaptable
P4 software programming support on an FPGA provides a highly adaptable networking solution. Benefits include rapid prototyping and deployment, customizable data plane processing, high performance, efficient resource use, support for existing network standards, and adaptability to evolving standards. This adaptability is crucial for meeting the dynamic demands of modern networks.
How does P4 Suite for FPGA help you with your design and development?
Software Developer/Designer
The suite removes the complexity of low-level hardware programming, allowing software developers with no FPGA design expertise to focus on the logic of packet processing and provides benefits such as rapid development, customizable networking functions, protocol independence, and cross-platform portability, implemented with the efficiency of an FPGA.
Hardware Developer/Designer
Hardware developers can leverage the suite to generate RTL IP quickly and easily for complex network protocols directly from the intuitive P4 domain-specific programming language for network devices. It supports P4 custom architectures, allowing hardware developers to integrate arbitrary custom functionality into their P4 data plane definition.
Development Tool Flow
The Intel® P4 Suite for FPGA Tool Flow shows the flow diagram depicting how it generate the target system with an FPGA data plane and a control plane software stack running on a connected CPU.
The suite allows you to create the FPGA data plane and control it through software.
Applications
Edge Gateways
Using the suite in edge gateway design enhances adaptability, performance, and functionality. Support for custom protocols, low-latency performance, and advanced security features enable dynamic network functionality and efficient use of resources, making it well-suited to modern digital networking demands and ecosystem standards, particularly in edge computing and IoT ecosystems.
Aggregation Platforms
Aggregation platforms benefit from being developed with the suite. Confidently implement dynamic traffic management, customizable data processing, and traffic consolidation features with enhanced security features, scalability, and optimized performance within cost-effective and fully reprogrammable FPGAs.
UPF Gateway
It supports high-speed data forwarding, policy applications, and connectivity, making it an ideal fit for UPF Gateways in 5G networks. Using the suite in UPF Gateway design enhances functionality, efficiency, and adaptability. Benefits include a programmable data plane, dynamic policy implementation, efficient traffic handling, enhanced network slicing, improved security, and cost-effectiveness.
Security
It offers several advantages in designing network security applications. These include implementing customized security policies, dynamic threat detection and mitigation, improved performance, flexibility, and cost efficiency. By leveraging the suite with reprogrammable FPGAs, security measures can be more adaptable, efficient, and effective, keeping pace with the evolving threat landscape and the growing complexity of digital networks.