A Survey on Routing Algorithms and Techniques Used to Improve Network Performance in Software-Defined Networking

The growth of network infrastructure over the years, including the increasing number of devices and users connecting to networks, the increasing complexity of network environments, and the need for more flexible and efficient network management, has led to the emergence of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) as a feasible means of support. SDN is a networking approach that uses software to abstract, manage, and control the network infrastructure. In SDN, the control plane, which determines how data is routed through the network, is separated from the data plane, which forwards the traffic. This separation allows the control plane to be more flexible and programmable, enabling administrators to easily configure and manage the network using the software. There are several routing algorithms and techniques that can be used to improve network performance in Software-Defined Networking. Shortest Path Routing is a common routing algorithm along with Segment Routing and may be capable of speeding up the network's overall performance by decreasing the time it takes for traffic to reach its destination. Load Balancing is a technique that involves distributing traffic across multiple resources, such as servers or network devices, to optimize the use of resources and improve the performance of the network. For this, there exist several techniques such as Round Robin and Ant Colony Optimization. Another such technique used to optimize the use of resources and improve the overall performance of the network is Traffic Engineering - where software is used to route traffic through the network based on various criteria, such as the type of traffic, the source, and destination of the traffic, or the current load on the network. There have been numerous studies in these fields investigating the feasibility of novel systems and solutions that have been proposed for improving network performance. This paper goes into the methodologies followed for these systems and the impacts they have had on generating increments in network performance.