NEST: Network Enforced Session Types (Technical Report)

2026-04-23

AI Summary

This work addresses the lack of runtime network-level verification mechanisms in existing application-layer protocols, which traditionally require intrusive modifications to application code. It proposes, for the first time, shifting session-type-driven protocol monitoring into the programmable data plane by leveraging the P4 language to automatically generate packet-level monitors. This approach enforces protocol specifications directly within the network without any changes to applications. By integrating session type theory with network verification algorithms, the method effectively handles real-world network conditions such as packet loss and reordering. The feasibility and practicality of this network-level enforcement are demonstrated through evaluations in microservice and network function scenarios, showing its capability to efficiently enforce complex protocols at scale.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Plan Execution and Monitoring
• Multiagent Systems: Applications
• Application Domains: Internet of Things, Sensor Networks & Smart Cities

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

This paper introduces NEST (Network-Enforced Session Types), a runtime verification framework that moves application-level protocol monitoring into the network fabric. Unlike prior work that instruments or wraps application code, we synthesize packet-level monitors that enforce protocols directly in the data plane. We develop algorithms to generate network-level monitors from session types and extend them to handle packet loss and reordering. We implement NEST in P4 and evaluate it on applications including microservice and network-function models, showing that network-level monitors can enforce realistic non-trivial protocols.

Problem

• session types
• runtime verification
• network enforcement
• protocol monitoring
• data plane

Innovation

• Session Types
• Runtime Verification
• Network Data Plane
• P4
• Protocol Enforcement