Verification of Computer Switching Networks: An Overview

Formal verification has seen much success in several domains of hardware and software design. For example, in hardware verification there has been much work in the verification of microprocessors (e.g. [1]) and memory systems (e.g. [2]). Similarly, software verification has seen success in device-drivers (e.g. [3]) and concurrent software (e.g. [4]). The area of network verification, which consists of both hardware and software components, has received relatively less attention. Traditionally, the focus in this domain has been on performance and security, with less emphasis on functional correctness. However, increasing complexity is resulting in increasing functional failures and thus prompting interest in verification of key correctness properties. This paper reviews the formal verification techniques that have been used here thus far, with the goal of understanding the characteristics of the problem domain that are helpful for each of the techniques, as well as those that pose specific challenges. Finally, it highlights some interesting research challenges that need to be addressed in this important emerging domain.