A transparent OpenFlow-based oracle for locality-aware content distribution

Abstract

Locality-aware policies for content distribution attempt to redirect content requests to nearby sources in order to optimize bandwidth utilization and reduce operating costs for Internet Service Providers. For this purpose, an oracle service is required to track content availability at each location and dynamically redirect requests to an optimal source. In this paper we propose an OpenFlow-based locality oracle, developed as a POX controller module in an attempt to make the redirection mechanism as transparent as possible to the underlying service. We show two possible implementations, using respectively DNS resolution and HTTP redirection, and we analyze the benefits and downsides of each solution. Finally, we evaluate the impact of the redirection process on the latency experienced by the requester.