FarReach - Write-back Caching in Programmable Switches

Explore a cutting-edge solution for addressing skewed write-intensive key-value storage workloads in modern data centers through this conference talk from USENIX ATC '23. Delve into FarReach, an innovative caching framework that implements write-back caching in programmable switches to enhance write performance and mitigate server overloads. Discover how the researchers overcome challenges posed by strict programming rules and limited stateful memory of programmable switches while ensuring reliable protection against data loss due to switch failures. Learn about the careful co-design of control and data planes for cache management, resulting in high data-plane performance with lightweight control-plane management. Examine experimental results from a Tofino switch testbed, showcasing FarReach's impressive throughput gains compared to state-of-the-art in-switch caching approaches under skewed write-intensive workloads.