Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hara, Takanori, Sasabe, Masahiro
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.10001
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914033181917184
author Hara, Takanori
Sasabe, Masahiro
author_facet Hara, Takanori
Sasabe, Masahiro
contents Service Function Chaining (SFC) is a networking technique that ensures traffic traverses a predefined sequence of service functions, realizing arbitrary network services through dynamic and efficient communication paths. Inspired by this concept, we propose an SFC-based architecture for Multi-hop Split Inference (MSI), where split sub-models are interpreted as service functions and their composition forms a service chain representing the global model. By leveraging SFC, the proposed architecture dynamically establishes communication paths for split sub-models, ensuring efficient and adaptive execution. Furthermore, we extend this architecture to Multi-hop Split Learning (MSL) by applying SFC to the bidirectional communication required for training tasks. To realize the proposed architecture, we design Neural Service Functions (NSFs) to execute split sub-models as transparent TCP proxies and integrate them with Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) and the extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF)-based SFC proxy. This integration ensures efficient ML processing over dynamic routing while maintaining compatibility with existing applications. Evaluation results demonstrate that (1) the proposed architecture is feasible for both MSI and MSL; (2) it is particularly suitable for real-time inference in MSI scenarios with small mini-batch sizes; (3) it supports dynamic path reconfiguration, enabling adaptive responses to changing network conditions while minimizing the impact of control mechanisms on inference and learning processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_10001
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Service Function Chaining Architecture for Multi-hop Split Inference and Learning
Hara, Takanori
Sasabe, Masahiro
Networking and Internet Architecture
Service Function Chaining (SFC) is a networking technique that ensures traffic traverses a predefined sequence of service functions, realizing arbitrary network services through dynamic and efficient communication paths. Inspired by this concept, we propose an SFC-based architecture for Multi-hop Split Inference (MSI), where split sub-models are interpreted as service functions and their composition forms a service chain representing the global model. By leveraging SFC, the proposed architecture dynamically establishes communication paths for split sub-models, ensuring efficient and adaptive execution. Furthermore, we extend this architecture to Multi-hop Split Learning (MSL) by applying SFC to the bidirectional communication required for training tasks. To realize the proposed architecture, we design Neural Service Functions (NSFs) to execute split sub-models as transparent TCP proxies and integrate them with Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) and the extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF)-based SFC proxy. This integration ensures efficient ML processing over dynamic routing while maintaining compatibility with existing applications. Evaluation results demonstrate that (1) the proposed architecture is feasible for both MSI and MSL; (2) it is particularly suitable for real-time inference in MSI scenarios with small mini-batch sizes; (3) it supports dynamic path reconfiguration, enabling adaptive responses to changing network conditions while minimizing the impact of control mechanisms on inference and learning processes.
title Service Function Chaining Architecture for Multi-hop Split Inference and Learning
topic Networking and Internet Architecture
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.10001