Traffic Management Applications for Stateful SDN Data Plane

The successful OpenFlow approach to Software Defined Networking (SDN) allows network programmability through a central controller able to orchestrate a set of dumb switches. However, the simple match/action abstraction of OpenFlow switches constrains the evolution of the forwarding rules to be fully managed by the controller. This can be particularly limiting for a number of applications that are affected by the delay of the slow control path, like traffic management applications. Some recent proposals are pushing toward an evolution of the OpenFlow abstraction to enable the evolution of forwarding policies directly in the data plane based on state machines and local events. In this paper, we present two traffic management applications that exploit a stateful data plane and their prototype implementation based on OpenState, an OpenFlow evolution that we recently proposed.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

Multi-path routing for mission critical applications in software-defined networks

Mission critical applications depends on the communication among other systems and/or users and thus, the traffic/flows generated by these applications could bring profound consequences in sectors such as military, hospital, automotive safety and air-traffic control systems. These critical flows require stringent QoS requirements on parameters such as throughput, packet loss, latency, jitter and redundancy. Network operators must have tools that allow them to provide special treatment to such mission-critical flows based on specific application requirements. Due to the constraints of traditional networks, we should seek for solutions supported by de-centralised approaches offered by SDN. In this paper, we propose a solution to achieve the stringent QoS requirement of such mission critical flows in multi-path environments based on SDN. This solution allows the network operator to prioritise traffic between specific end points. Also, using the overall view of the network, the solution allows evaluation of the path loads between two endpoints and to opt for the less congested path. Moreover, this paper tries to demonstrate a satisfactory network performance by presenting trade-offs between throughput and the number of hops within a multi-path network. The proposed solution is implemented in the application and control layer of the OpenDaylight Controller. The networking devices were simulated using Mininet simulator and background traffic was generated using Iperf

Segment routing for effective recovery and multi-domain traffic engineering

Segment routing is an emerging traffic engineering technique relying on Multi-protocol Label-Switched (MPLS) label stacking to steer traffic using the source-routing paradigm. Traffic flows are enforced through a given path by applying a specifically designed stack of labels (i.e., the segment list). Each packet is then forwarded along the shortest path toward the network element represented by the top label. Unlike traditional MPLS networks, segment routing maintains a per-flow state only at the ingress node; no signaling protocol is required to establish new flows or change the routing of active flows. Thus, control plane scalability is greatly improved. Several segment routing use cases have recently been proposed. As an example, it can be effectively used to dynamically steer traffic flows on paths characterized by low latency values. However, this may suffer from some potential issues. Indeed, deployed MPLS equipment typically supports a limited number of stacked labels. Therefore, it is important to define the proper procedures to minimize the required segment list depth. This work is focused on two relevant segment routing use cases: dynamic traffic recovery and traffic engineering in multi-domain networks. Indeed, in both use cases, the utilization of segment routing can significantly simplify the network operation with respect to traditional Internet Protocol (IP)/MPLS procedures. Thus, two original procedures based on segment routing are proposed for the aforementioned use cases. Both procedures are evaluated including a simulative analysis of the segment list depth. Moreover, an experimental demonstration is performed in a multi-layer test bed exploiting a software-defined-networking-based implementation of segment routing

Analyzing Methods and Opportunities in Software-Defined (SDN) Networks for Data Traffic Optimizations

Computer networks are dynamic and require constant updating and monitoring of operations to meet the growing volume of data trafficked. This generates a number of cost issues as well as performance management and tuning to deliver granular quality of service (QoS), balancing data load, and controlling the occurrence of bottlenecks. As an alternative, a new programmable network paradigm has been used under the name of Software Defined Networks (SDN). The SDN consists of decoupling the data plane and controlling the network, where a programmable controller is responsible for managing rules for routing the data to various devices. Thus, the hardware that remains in the network data stream simply addresses the routing of the packets quickly according to these rules. In this context, this article conducts a study on different methods and approaches that are being used in the literature to solve problems in the optimization of data traffic in the network through the use of SDN. In particular, this study differs from other reviews of SDN because it focuses on issues such as QoS, load balancing, and congestion control. Finally, in addition to the review of the SDN's state-of-the-art in the areas mentioned, a survey of future challenges and research opportunities in the area is also presented. load balancing and congestion control. Finally, in addition to the review of the SDN's state-of-the-art in the areas mentioned, a survey of future challenges and research opportunities in the area is also presented. load balancing and congestion control. Finally, in addition to the review of the SDN's state-of-the-art in the areas mentioned, a survey of future challenges and research opportunities in the area is also presented

The Road Ahead for Networking: A Survey on ICN-IP Coexistence Solutions

In recent years, the current Internet has experienced an unexpected paradigm shift in the usage model, which has pushed researchers towards the design of the Information-Centric Networking (ICN) paradigm as a possible replacement of the existing architecture. Even though both Academia and Industry have investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of ICN, achieving the complete replacement of the Internet Protocol (IP) is a challenging task. Some research groups have already addressed the coexistence by designing their own architectures, but none of those is the final solution to move towards the future Internet considering the unaltered state of the networking. To design such architecture, the research community needs now a comprehensive overview of the existing solutions that have so far addressed the coexistence. The purpose of this paper is to reach this goal by providing the first comprehensive survey and classification of the coexistence architectures according to their features (i.e., deployment approach, deployment scenarios, addressed coexistence requirements and architecture or technology used) and evaluation parameters (i.e., challenges emerging during the deployment and the runtime behaviour of an architecture). We believe that this paper will finally fill the gap required for moving towards the design of the final coexistence architecture.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, 3 table

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-