Portable Programmable Layer 3 QoS for Tactical MANETs: A P4/PSA-Based Architectural Approach

With the currently deployed tactical software defined radios (SDRs), there is no easy way to develop advanced Layer 3 (L3) QoS functionalities independently of the idiosyncrasies of the operating systems (OSs) and Layer 2 (L2) technologies. This significantly slows down large-scale R&D efforts on L3 QoS for tactical radios. In this position paper, we propose an architectural approach to support a large set of advanced L3 QoS behaviors, portable across tactical devices based on the P4 (programming protocol-independent packet processors) language and the Portable Switching Architecture (PSA). Our goal is to initiate a productive discussion among the interested industry, academic, and government parties that could lead to standardization that significantly accelerates research and development of application- and missionaware L3 QoS for future tactical networks.