BIRD on an Open Linux Switch: Mainline Linux, switchdev and Hardware L3 Offload

BIRD is widely used in the Internet routing community, but it usually runs on servers, virtual machines, or routers where the forwarding path is abstracted away by a network operating system or vendor-specific integration layer. This talk explores a different approach: running BIRD directly on an open Linux Ethernet switch, using the Novarq TACTICAL 1000 platform based on LAN969x switching silicon and mainline Linux switchdev.

The goal is to evaluate a Linux-native routing path where BIRD installs routes through standard kernel interfaces, while the Linux kernel, switchdev framework, and hardware driver handle forwarding and hardware offload. This avoids SAI, FPM, proprietary network operating systems, and vendor-specific forwarding agents in the control/data-plane path.

We will present the architecture, porting approach, and practical findings from bringing BIRD up on the platform. Topics include interface modelling, VLAN-aware routing, route installation, neighbour handling, observability, hardware L3 offload expectations, and current upstream limitations.

The talk is intended as a practical engineering report for the open-source networking community: what works today, what is still missing, and where collaboration between BIRD developers, Linux kernel/switchdev maintainers, and open hardware vendors could improve Linux-native switching.