A network monitor and controller using only OpenFlow

Abstract

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Architecture is relatively well defined, but the standards still need further development. Currently, working groups are developing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in which network monitoring is a priority, because it is the first step towards controlling a network. We present a network monitor that provides basic Quality of Service (QoS) parameters without the addition of a probe in the network equipment, making the system independent of suppliers. Our monitor provides percentage of utilization, delay, jitter and loss by only exploring OpenFlow capabilities. Moreover, we present a Traffic Engineering application that selects the route according to flow requirements, using the monitor developed. The results indicate an accurate monitor which is useful for controlling the network.