n0 Announces noq: QUIC Multipath Implementation in Rust with 80Gbps Throughput

n0 Announces noq: QUIC Multipath Implementation in Rust with 80Gbps Throughput

n0, the networking company known for its work on QUIC and UDP-based protocols, has announced noq — a Rust implementation of QUIC Multipath (MPQUIC) that achieves 80Gbps throughput on commodity hardware. The project represents a significant milestone in next-generation internet transport protocols.

What is QUIC Multipath?

QUIC Multipath extends the base QUIC protocol (used by HTTP/3) to simultaneously use multiple network paths between the same connection:

• Bandwidth aggregation: Combine WiFi + cellular for faster downloads
• Seamless handoff: Switch between networks without breaking connections
• Reliability: If one path fails, traffic reroutes automatically
• Lower latency: Choose the lowest-latency path for each packet

noq Technical Highlights

Performance

• 80Gbps throughput on a single server with dual 40Gbps NICs
• Sub-millisecond path switching latency
• Zero-copy I/O using io_uring and DPDK integration
• Linear scaling with additional network interfaces

Implementation Details

• Written in pure Rust with no unsafe code
• Uses the quinn QUIC library as a foundation
• Implements IETF draft-ietf-quic-multipath-06
• Supports both kernel-bypass (DPDK) and kernel network stacks
• Built-in congestion control that coordinates across multiple paths

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│           Application            │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│         noq MPQUIC Layer         │
│  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐       │
│  │ Path 1  │  │ Path 2  │  ...   │
│  │ (WiFi)  │  │(Cellular)│       │
│  └────┬────┘  └────┬────┘       │
├───────┴────────────┴─────────────┤
│      Transport Layer (UDP)       │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Why This Matters

For mobile users: A phone with WiFi and 5G could potentially aggregate both connections, delivering fiber-like speeds on the go.

For data centers: Servers with multiple NICs can achieve higher throughput without expensive bonding switches.

For edge computing: Vehicles and IoT devices with multiple connectivity options (WiFi, 5G, satellite) can maintain persistent high-bandwidth connections.

Comparison with Existing Solutions

Getting Started

The project is available on GitHub under a permissive license. n0 has published benchmarks and integration guides for deploying noq in production environments.

Source: Hacker News | n0