TRUSTWORTHINESS AMONG CONTROLLERS AND SWITCHES IN MULTI-PROVIDER SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORK DEPLOYMENTS USING A TRUSTED PLATFORM MODULE (TPM) AND SECURE LEDGER

The OpenFlow® protocol especially OpenFlow® Discovery Protocol (OFDP) utilizes clear text Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) message exchanges to discover network topology. Such exchanges lack security and may lead to network attacks such as LLDP flooding, link fabrication, etc. Currently, the OpenFlow® protocol both in the case of discovery (OFDP) as well during subsequent communication between a controller and a switch (even with Transport Layer Security (TLS)) does not offer a way to understand whether or not a discovered controller or switch is a trustworthy device. Presented herein are techniques that provide Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and blockchain-based trust establishment for OpenFlow® protocol communications that may be utilized between controllers and switches in multi-provider software defined network (SDN) deployments

Multi-hop Device-to-Device Routing Protocols for Software-Defined Wireless Networks

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Multi-hop device-to-device (MD2D) communications are an integral part of future wireless networks. Multi-hop communications enable mobile devices in close proximity to communicate directly or through multi-hop connections instead of traversing through a network infrastructure. This provides numerous benefits for cellular networks, such as low-cost communications, enhanced cellular coverage and capacity, reduced total power consumption in devices, and improved spectral efficiency. Consequently, service providers can leverage the advantages of both D2D and cellular networks to enhance the quality of their services. However, tight coupling of control and data functions in cellular equipment and the utilization of proprietary interfaces and protocols in existing cellular infrastructure make integration difficult and rigid. Hence, there is a need for open and reprogrammable frameworks to make the network more flexible and scalable. Software-defined networking (SDN) is a promising technology for future wireless networks that provides an open and reprogrammable framework wherein the control functions are taken from network devices and are logically centralized in a control entity. The open framework of SDN provides an opportunity for service providers to manage networks more intelligently and develop services in a more agile manner. This thesis introduces an SDN-based framework for cellular networks, referred to as virtual ad hoc routing protocol framework (VARP), capable of developing different types of multi-hop routing protocols. In the proposed framework, an SDN controller determines the mode of communication for mobile devices (i.e., cellular or multi-hop modes). Two different multi-hop routing protocols are designed for the proposed framework: source-based virtual ad hoc routing protocol (VARP-S) and SDN-based multi-hop D2D routing protocol (SMDRP). In both protocols, a source of data packet sends a route request to the controller and receives the forwarding information from the controller in response. This thesis then presents a multi-protocol framework capable of developing multiple routing protocols under a single framework. In the proposed framework, an SDN controller logically divides a cell into multiple clusters based on its knowledge of the entire cell. The controller determines which multi-hop routing protocol can provide the best performance for each cluster. The simulation results show that the proposed multi-protocol framework provides better performance than traditional single-protocol architectures. Finally, the thesis presents a novel software-defined adaptive routing algorithm for multi-hop multi-frequency communications in wireless multi-hop mesh networks. The simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm improves the end-to-end throughput of multi-hop connections by considering the surrounding WiFi traffic and adaptive selection of frequencies and routes

A Survey on the Contributions of Software-Defined Networking to Traffic Engineering

Since the appearance of OpenFlow back in 2008, software-defined networking (SDN) has gained momentum. Although there are some discrepancies between the standards developing organizations working with SDN about what SDN is and how it is defined, they all outline traffic engineering (TE) as a key application. One of the most common objectives of TE is the congestion minimization, where techniques such as traffic splitting among multiple paths or advanced reservation systems are used. In such a scenario, this manuscript surveys the role of a comprehensive list of SDN protocols in TE solutions, in order to assess how these protocols can benefit TE. The SDN protocols have been categorized using the SDN architecture proposed by the open networking foundation, which differentiates among data-controller plane interfaces, application-controller plane interfaces, and management interfaces, in order to state how the interface type in which they operate influences TE. In addition, the impact of the SDN protocols on TE has been evaluated by comparing them with the path computation element (PCE)-based architecture. The PCE-based architecture has been selected to measure the impact of SDN on TE because it is the most novel TE architecture until the date, and because it already defines a set of metrics to measure the performance of TE solutions. We conclude that using the three types of interfaces simultaneously will result in more powerful and enhanced TE solutions, since they benefit TE in complementary ways.European Commission through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (GN4) under Grant 691567 Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the Secure Deployment of Services Over SDN and NFV-based Networks Project S&NSEC under Grant TEC2013-47960-C4-3-

Evolving SDN for Low-Power IoT Networks

Software Defined Networking (SDN) offers a flexible and scalable architecture that abstracts decision making away from individual devices and provides a programmable network platform. However, implementing a centralized SDN architecture within the constraints of a low-power wireless network faces considerable challenges. Not only is controller traffic subject to jitter due to unreliable links and network contention, but the overhead generated by SDN can severely affect the performance of other traffic. This paper addresses the challenge of bringing high-overhead SDN architecture to IEEE 802.15.4 networks. We explore how traditional SDN needs to evolve in order to overcome the constraints of low-power wireless networks, and discuss protocol and architectural optimizations necessary to reduce SDN control overhead - the main barrier to successful implementation. We argue that interoperability with the existing protocol stack is necessary to provide a platform for controller discovery and coexistence with legacy networks. We consequently introduce {\mu}SDN, a lightweight SDN framework for Contiki, with both IPv6 and underlying routing protocol interoperability, as well as optimizing a number of elements within the SDN architecture to reduce control overhead to practical levels. We evaluate {\mu}SDN in terms of latency, energy, and packet delivery. Through this evaluation we show how the cost of SDN control overhead (both bootstrapping and management) can be reduced to a point where comparable performance and scalability is achieved against an IEEE 802.15.4-2012 RPL-based network. Additionally, we demonstrate {\mu}SDN through simulation: providing a use-case where the SDN configurability can be used to provide Quality of Service (QoS) for critical network flows experiencing interference, and we achieve considerable reductions in delay and jitter in comparison to a scenario without SDN

Design and Experimental Validation of a Software-Defined Radio Access Network Testbed with Slicing Support

Network slicing is a fundamental feature of 5G systems to partition a single network into a number of segregated logical networks, each optimized for a particular type of service, or dedicated to a particular customer or application. The realization of network slicing is particularly challenging in the Radio Access Network (RAN) part, where multiple slices can be multiplexed over the same radio channel and Radio Resource Management (RRM) functions shall be used to split the cell radio resources and achieve the expected behaviour per slice. In this context, this paper describes the key design and implementation aspects of a Software-Defined RAN (SD-RAN) experimental testbed with slicing support. The testbed has been designed consistently with the slicing capabilities and related management framework established by 3GPP in Release 15. The testbed is used to demonstrate the provisioning of RAN slices (e.g. preparation, commissioning and activation phases) and the operation of the implemented RRM functionality for slice-aware admission control and scheduling