INCA: a mechanism for traffic identification and chaining in the data plane

Inside the 5GC (5G Core) a myriad of (virtual) functions may be deployed so that different treatment can be given for traffic coming in and out to/from the RAN (Radio Access Network). One of these key functions is Service Function Chaining (SFC) supported by SRv6 state-of-the-art protocol. In this paper, we present an SFC P4-based solution for traffic identification and chaining using SRv6. We call this function INCA (In- Network Classification and chAining) which is deployed entirely in the data plane using a Netronome Agilo SmartNIC. The INCA is deployed just before the UPF (User Plane Function) inside the 5GC and is capable of observing the traffic coming from and going to the RAN so that it classifies and creates the proper sequence of services to be followed by every specific flow. Our results show that INCA performs the task of packet classification and chaining perfectly with a minimal FCT (Flow Completion Time) impact when compared to the same environment without it.