When SD-WAN meets eBPF

eBPF represents a major advancement for SD-WAN implementations, enabling high-performance, programmable, and secure network processing capabilities directly within the Linux kernel. Unlike traditional SD-WAN solutions that rely on user-space processing—which often introduces latency and performance bottlenecks—eBPF permits custom packet handling to operate at near-wire speed within the kernel. This kernel-level processing allows flexible traffic control and QoS management, enabling SD-WAN providers to implement custom traffic steering,
load balancing, and QoS policies, optimizing resource allocation and dynamically prioritizing applications. In this paper, we introduce HELIOS, the first implementation of SD-WAN edge nodes powered by eBPF with centralized control facilitated by advanced applications on an ONOS controller. Extensive benchmarking showcases the efficiency and responsiveness of the proposed framework, highlighting eBPF’s potential to deliver substantial performance improvements in SD-WAN contexts.