Security Issues in Programmable Routers for Future Internet

Network resource virtualization and dynamic service configuration are key functionalities in future Internet scenarios and can take advantage of the network programmability paradigm. As a key system thought for next-generation networks, a programmable router is a modular node to support this context. It relies on high-performance optical switching fabric and modular software organization, to seamlessly meet the dynamic requirements of emerging and future applications. In this chapter, the security aspects arising when customers and service providers access node and service programmability are discussed. Secure service support based on control and forwarding element separation is proposed and tested in a software router context to show the feasibility and the effectiveness of the approach.