A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols

Kühlewind, Mirja; Bühler, Tobias; Trammell, Brian; Neuhaus, Stephan; Müntener, Roman; Fairhurst, Gorry

doi:10.21256/zhaw-1538

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1538

Publication type:	Conference paper
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols
Authors:	Kühlewind, Mirja Bühler, Tobias Trammell, Brian Neuhaus, Stephan Müntener, Roman Fairhurst, Gorry
DOI:	10.21256/zhaw-1538
Proceedings:	Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM)
Conference details:	International Conference on Network and Service Management, Tokyo, Japan, 26-30 November 2017
Issue Date:	2017
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	IEEE
ISBN:	978-3-901882-98-2
Language:	English
Subjects:	Networking; Measurement; Encryption; Middlebox
Subject (DDC):	004: Computer science
Abstract:	The deployment of encrypted transport protocols imposes new challenges for network operations. Key in-network functions such as those implemented by firewalls and passive measurement devices currently rely on information exposed by the transport layer. Encryption, in addition to improving privacy, helps to address ossification of network protocols caused by middleboxes that assume certain information to be present in the clear. However, “encrypting it all” risks diminishing the utility of these middleboxes for the traffic management tasks for which they were designed. A middlebox cannot use what it cannot see. We propose an architectural solution to this issue, by introducing a new “path layer” for transport-independent, in-band signaling between Internet endpoints and network elements on the paths between them, and using this layer to reinforce the boundary between the hop-by-hop network layer and the end-to- end transport layer. We define a path layer header on top of UDP to provide a common wire image for new, encrypted transports. This path layer header provides information to a transport- independent on-path state machine that replaces stateful handling currently based on exposed header flags and fields in TCP; it enables explicit measurability of transport layer performance; and offers extensibility by sender-to-path and path-to-receiver communications for diagnostics and management. This provides not only a replacement for signals that are not available with encrypted traffic, but also allows integrity-protected, enhanced signaling under endpoint control. We present an implementation of this wire image integrated with the QUIC protocol, as well as a basic stateful middlebox built on Vector Packet Processing (VPP) provided by FD.io.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/1892
Fulltext version:	Accepted version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Engineering
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Computer Science (InIT)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Engineering

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Kühlewind, M., Bühler, T., Trammell, B., Neuhaus, S., Müntener, R., & Fairhurst, G. (2017). A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols. Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM). https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1538

Kühlewind, M. et al. (2017) ‘A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols’, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM). IEEE. Available at: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1538.

M. Kühlewind, T. Bühler, B. Trammell, S. Neuhaus, R. Müntener, and G. Fairhurst, “A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM), 2017. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-1538.

KÜHLEWIND, Mirja, Tobias BÜHLER, Brian TRAMMELL, Stephan NEUHAUS, Roman MÜNTENER und Gorry FAIRHURST, 2017. A path layer for the internet : enabling network operations on encrypted protocols. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM). Conference paper. IEEE. 2017. ISBN 978-3-901882-98-2

Kühlewind, Mirja, Tobias Bühler, Brian Trammell, Stephan Neuhaus, Roman Müntener, and Gorry Fairhurst. 2017. “A Path Layer for the Internet : Enabling Network Operations on Encrypted Protocols.” Conference paper. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1538.

Kühlewind, Mirja, et al. “A Path Layer for the Internet : Enabling Network Operations on Encrypted Protocols.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM), IEEE, 2017, https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1538.