Hierarchical Control Plane Framework for Multi-Domain TSN Orchestration

The evolution of industrial communication to Industry 4.0 signifies the need for determinism in all aspects of communication. While the IEEE Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) standards cater to these needs, the integration and configurability of such interconnected heterogeneous industrial networks remain an open research question. This paper describes a novel hierarchical Software-Defined Networking (SDN) based architectural design and control plane framework, introduced for the first time in the context of orchestration and management of a multi-domain TSN network. In addition to the architecture, we propose the relevant data models and signaling schema required to set up an end-to-end inter-domain time-sensitive stream. Proof-of-concept implementation validates the feasibility of the composed framework while bringing performance-wise significant benefits compared to its conceptual alternative, i.e., the peer-to-peer model. The proposed framework is found to be scalable and eliminates exposure of domain-specific information amongst domains, facilitating multi-vendor heterogeneous applications.