NetO-App: A Network Orchestration Application for Centralized Network Management in Small Business Networks

Software-defined networking (SDN) is reshaping the networking paradigm. Previous research shows that SDN has advantages over traditional networks because it separates the control and data plane, leading to greater flexibility through network automation and programmability. Small business networks require flexibility, like service provider networks, to scale, deploy, and self-heal network infrastructure that comprises of cloud operating systems, virtual machines, containers, vendor networking equipment, and virtual network functions (VNFs); however, as SDN evolves in industry, there has been limited research to develop an SDN architecture to fulfill the requirements of small business networks. This research proposes a network architecture that can abstract, orchestrate, and scale configurations based on small business network requirements. Our results show that the proposed architecture provides enhanced network management and operations when combined with the network orchestration application (NetO-App) developed in this research. The NetO-App orchestrates network policies, automates configuration changes, and manages internal and external communication between the campus networking infrastructure.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, To appear in the Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Networks & Communications, 28-29 July 2018, Sydney, Australi

An Examination of the Design, Development, and Implementation of an Internet Protocol Version 6 Network: The ADTRAN Inc. Case Study

In this dissertation, the author examined the capabilities of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in regard to replacing Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) as the internetworking technology for Medium-sized Businesses (MBs) in the Information Systems (IS) field. Transition to IPv6 is inevitable, and, thus, organizations are adopting this protocol to be prepared in it becoming the dominant internetworking protocol. The goal of the research was to develop a model for IS specialists to use with MBs in the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. To achieve this goal, the author performed a case study of ADTRAN Inc.\u27s IPv6 implementation, using the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) framework. The SDLC methodology consists of five phases and was used to support the design, development, and implementation of the ADTRAN Inc. IPv6 solution. For Phase 1, the Research Phase, the author examined business requirements, administered a questionnaire, and recorded participant observation. In Phase 2, the Analysis Phase, the author analyzed the data from Phase 1 and created a functional and nonfunctional requirements list. For Phase 3, the Logical Design Phase, the author developed documentation and diagrams for the IPv6 implementation. In Phase 4, the Physical Design Phase, the author determined what internetworking hardware would be needed and where it should be deployed. For Phase 5, the Implementation Phase, the author completed the IPv6 network implementation. Finally, the author analyzed the data collected from this investigation. The use of the findings, in conjunction with the SDLC methodology, resulted in the ADTRAN Inc. Implementation model, which can be used by MBs of a similar size to ADTRAN Inc., when IPv6 transition initiatives are being considered