SPRINT: Line-Rate In-band Network Telemetry Recovery for Application Optimization

In-band Network Telemetry (INT) has enabled efficient, real-time network monitoring and analysis by embedding telemetry data directly into live traffic. However, INT packet loss is inevitable due to network limitations (e.g., congestion, buffer overflow), which compromises the accuracy and effectiveness of INT-based applications. Existing INT recovery solutions cannot operate on the data plane, making them impractical for latency-sensitive in-network computing (INC) applications (e.g., RHA), which rely on accurate INT for decisions. To address this gap, this paper introduces SPRINT, the first forward-error-correction (FEC) INT recovery mechanism that runs entirely at line-rate within the programmable data plane. SPRINT leverages a novel, hardware-friendly shift powered XOR encoding with nested grouping to minimize redundant state and maximize throughput, thereby providing robust fault tolerance. We have implemented a testbed prototype of SPRINT on P4 hardware (Intel Tofino ASIC) and the BMv2 software switch. Our evaluation shows that SPRINT uses under 10% of on-chip SRAM, achieves a minimum recovery latency of approximately 21 µs, delivers a 99% recovery rate, and maintains strong reliability for INT-based applications, e.g., HPCC and RHA.