• user-space network stack
• network function virtualization
• kernel bypass techniques
• high-performance networking
• DPDK

Most of the modern high-performance networking frameworks implement kernel-bypass mechanisms to achieve much better results than traditional sockets in terms of throughput and latency.
The NIC is polled directly in userspace, where parts of the network stack are re-implemented as per need. The ability to process and forward millions of packets per seconds is critical especially in the emerging trend of NFV (Network Function Virtualization). The services typically run inside VMs or containers for the ease of deployment and scaling, so it is very important for them to communicate efficiently.
Also the 5G architecture, which represents the new frontier of cellular networks, is embracing by design the principles of NFV.

This work discusses and analyzes different state-of-the-art solutions for high-performance userspace networking, extending a framework for the performance evaluation of mechanisms for fast inter-container switching, implementing a minimal efficient UDP stack on top of DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit), and finally investigating potential applications in the 5G NR network stack, with a specific focus on the CU-DU functional split of the gNB architecture.