Smart Packets: Applying Active Networks to network management

This article introduces Smart Packets and describes the Smart Packets archi tecture, the packet formats, the language and its design goals, and securit y considerations. Smart Packets is an Active Networks project focusing on a pplying active networks technology to network management and monitoring. Me ssages in active networks are programs that are executed at nodes on the pa th to one or more target hosts. Smart Packets programs are written in a tig htly encoded, safe language specifically designed to support network manage ment and avoid dangerous constructs and accesses. Smart Packets improves th e management of large complex networks by (1) moving management decision po ints closer to the node being managed, (2) targeting specific aspects of th e node for information rather than exhaustive collection via polling, and ( 3) abstracting the management concepts to language constructs, allowing nim ble network control.