Roadmap¶
About this document¶
This page records released milestones and candidate extensions. Discuss designs and release scope in the issue tracker or a pull request. Public interfaces follow the API stability policy.
Released milestones¶
See the changelog for complete release notes.
| Version | Date | Main changes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1.0 | 2026-05-10 | Topology DSL, P4Runtime control, BMv2 orchestration, and interactive CLI. |
| 0.2.0 | 2026-05-10 | Controller packet I/O, IPv6 host addresses, asymmetric link impairments, Graphviz export, and host terminals. |
| 1.0.0 | 2026-05-10 | Public API stability policy, expanded CI matrix, wheel installation checks, and security documentation. |
| 1.1.0 | 2026-05-11 | INT example, logging configuration, and additive per-direction link impairments. |
| 1.2.0 | 2026-05-11 | Register reads and writes, with register-based switch IDs in the INT example. |
| 1.3.0 | 2026-05-11 | Multi-hop INT example using the same P4 program and distinct register values on each switch. |
| 1.4.0 | 2026-05-11 | RunningSwitch.boot_timestamp_us and timestamp alignment in the multi-hop INT example. |
| 1.5.0 | 2026-05-11 | Network.boot_timestamps and a configurable INT coordination-file path for separate experiments. |
| 1.5.1 | 2026-05-12 | Revised multi-hop INT integration assertions. |
| 1.6.0 | 2026-05-14 | Provisional async P4Runtime client, lazy switch client access, and the async concurrent example. |
| 1.7.0 | 2026-05-14 | AsyncP4RuntimeClient, AsyncOperationCancelledError, and RunningSwitch.async_client became stable. |
| 1.8.0 | 2026-10-25 | Async network lifecycle, CLI ternary/range matches, benchmark tooling, and compiler, connection and topology fixes. |
1.x candidates (additive, no API breakage)¶
This page does not assign a new feature to a specific 1.x release. Compatible fixes and additions follow the API stability policy.
2.0 candidates (may require API breakage)¶
These directions need design work before their interfaces and release scope can be decided. Adding a separate method or class can preserve compatibility. An incompatible change to a stable API must complete the deprecation cycle and ship in a new major version.
PSA architecture support¶
Topology.add_switch() already has an arch parameter, currently restricted to "v1model". Network launches simple_switch_grpc. PSA support needs integration with a matching compiler and runtime target. BMv2 documents its separate target implementations.
Work includes target selection, startup arguments and readiness checks, pipeline installation, and tests for table, counter, register, and packet I/O operations. P4InfoIndex and controller metadata handling need validation against the new target's P4Info. The design must determine which existing interfaces can be reused and whether any public interface needs to change.
Live topology mutation¶
Topology remains a mutable description after Network.start(). Adding a host or link to that description does not create running resources. Network has no live node or link add/remove interface.
Live operations need to keep the description, running-node handles, namespaces, interfaces, port assignments, and control-plane state consistent. The design also needs rollback when an operation fails and cleanup when the network stops. The current workflow is to stop the network, edit its description, and create and start a new Network. See topology changes.
AsyncNetwork¶
AsyncP4RuntimeClient supports concurrent RPC operations. await net.astart() runs network startup in a worker thread, and await net.astop() waits for shutdown. The synchronous Network.start() starts BMv2 switches sequentially, waiting for each switch to be ready before starting the next.
Use astart() from the main thread's event loop to install signal cleanup before startup. Cancellation waits for startup and cleanup before propagating. Keep async clients' event loops running until shutdown finishes. See the async lifecycle guide.
A future AsyncNetwork could build on these lifecycle methods, for example by adding an async context manager or coordinating multiple networks. Such additions can preserve the synchronous lifecycle.
Indefinitely deferred¶
- Distributed experiments.
Networkmanages resources on one Linux machine. Multi-machine orchestration needs remote resource management, links between hosts, and coordination of setup and cleanup. - Web interface. The current interfaces provide an interactive CLI and Graphviz topology export. Browser-based visualization and control are outside the candidate work listed above.