Towards network-assisted publish-subscribe over wide area networks

The Internet is poised to support new classes of industrial applications driven by large numbers of sensors and actuators generating and consuming sensor data streams. While the publish-subscribe (PubSub) architecture is well-suited for such large-scale data dissemination, existing over-the-top PubSub systems are not only vulnerable to network-induced performance degradation, but also unable to orchestrate the underlying network for better usage. This paper proposes a network-assisted PubSub architecture called SNAPS which enables seamless control of distributed PubSub brokers at the edge, as well as the networks that interconnect them. SNAPS leverages SRv6-based network programmability to build and maintain network-efficient, shareable data distribution trees across one or more administrative domains. The architecture is independent of broker implementation, making it suitable for "bringing your own brokers"at available edge locations. We describe how the networks interconnecting the brokers can be programmed for efficient, shareable data distribution via SRv6. Through simulation and prototype evaluation, we show the efficacy of SNAPS in providing better service for PubSub data delivery and better usage of the network resources.