Transformative requests

1. A method implemented by a node for implementing computational transformations conveyed in a content centric networking (CCN) request by a computation engine, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the CCN request containing a unique resource identifier (URI) and a computation field;

decoding the computation field to determine a computation pipeline;

retrieving a first content object identified by the URI;

executing the computation pipeline with the first content object as input; and

encoding a result of the computation pipeline as a second content object.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CCN request is received from a CCN client, the method further comprising:

generating a CCN response including the second content object; and

returning the CCN response to the CCN client.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further comprises:

establishing a serial pipeline of functions.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further comprises:

establishing a parallel pipeline of functions.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further comprises:

establishing a complex pipeline of functions including a hierarchy of parallel and serial functions.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

hashing a portion of the computation field and the URI to create a unique name for the second content object; and

caching the second content object using the unique name.

7. A network device configured to execute a method for computational transformations conveyed in a content centric networking (CCN) request, the network device comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein a computation engine; and

a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configured to execute the computation engine, the computation engine configured to receive the CCN request containing a unique resource identifier (URI) and a computation field, to decode the computation field to determine a computation pipeline, to retrieve a first content object identified by the URI, to execute the computation pipeline with the content object as input, and to encode a result of the computation pipeline as a second content object.

8. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the CCN request is received from a CCN client, the computation engine further configured to generate a CCN response including the second content object, and to return the CCN response to the CCN client.

9. The network device of claim 7 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a serial pipeline of functions.

10. The network device of claim 7 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a parallel pipeline of functions.

11. The network device of claim 7 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a complex pipeline of functions including a hierarchy of parallel and serial functions.

12. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the computation engine is further configured to hash a portion of the computation field and the URI to create a unique name for the second content object, and cache the second content object using the unique name.

13. A computing device configured to execute a plurality of virtual machines for implementing network function virtualization (NFV), wherein a virtual machine from the plurality of virtual machines is configured to execute a method for computational transformations conveyed in a content centric networking (CCN) request, the computing device comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein a computation engine; and

a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configured to execute the virtual machine, the virtual machine configured to execute the computation engine, the computation engine configured to receive the CCN request containing a unique resource identifier (URI) and a computation field, to decode the computation field to determine a computation pipeline, to retrieve a first content object identified by the URI, to execute the computation pipeline with the content object as input, and to encode a result of the computation pipeline as a second content object.

14. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein the CCN request is received from a CCN client, the computation engine further configured to generate a CCN response including the second content object, and to return the CCN response to the CCN client.

15. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a serial pipeline of functions.

16. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a parallel pipeline of functions.

17. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a complex pipeline of functions including a hierarchy of parallel and serial functions.

18. The computing device of claim 13 , wherein the computation engine is further configured to hash a portion of the computation field and the URI to create a unique name for the second content object, and cache the second content object using the unique name.

19. A control plane device to implement a control plane of a software defined networking (SDN) network including a plurality of network devices implementing a method for computational transformations conveyed in a content centric networking (CCN) request, the control plane device comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein a computation engine; and

a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configured to execute the computation engine, the computation engine configured to receive the CCN request containing a unique resource identifier (URI) and a computation field, to decode the computation field to determine a computation pipeline, to retrieve a first content object identified by the URI, to execute the computation pipeline with the content object as input, and to encode a result of the computation pipeline as a second content object.

20. The control plane device of claim 19 , wherein the CCN request is received from a CCN client, the computation engine further configured to generate a CCN response including the second content object, and to return the CCN response to the CCN client.

21. The control plane device of claim 19 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a serial pipeline of functions.

22. The control plane device of claim 19 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a parallel pipeline of functions.

23. The control plane device of claim 19 , wherein decoding the computation field to determine the computational pipeline further includes establishing a complex pipeline of functions including a hierarchy of parallel and serial functions.

24. The control plane device of claim 19 , wherein the computation engine is further configured to hash a portion of the computation field and the URI to create a unique name for the second content object, and cache the second content object using the unique name.