Network Performance Evaluation of Distributed SDN using Floodlight Controllers

Abstract

The last years of this digital age, the world has witnessed a progressive growth in Internet traffic. Many applications such as video streaming, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) accompanied with vast increase in Internet users made a huge burden upon conventional networks. Software Defined Network (SDN) is an effective solution. SDN fostered new innovative opportunities due to its enormous benefits. However, a network with a single centralized controller can handle a limited number of requests, and the whole network performance will be breaks down, if the controller fails. A multi-controller for the control plane becomes a solution that guarantees control plane survivability. This paper tries to shed some light on two of the most common challenges of SDN; which are the ability to scale (scaling configuration mode) and the ability to guarantee a smooth transition in case of controller failure (fault tolerant configuration mode). The proposed distributed SDN networks used floodlight remote controller which is a well-established software controller suited for small to medium sized networks.