Abstract:
At present for SDN environments, there are many proposed mechanisms to improve
its reliability, and performance. The challenges faced by SDN networks are mainly related to
Scalability, Reliability and Performance. As an example, for scalability related challenges, many
SDN networks have problems when replacing or installing new SDN switches to the network.
The problems are mainly the cost and errors while the installation process. To overcome this
issue, a mechanism is proposed to automate the initial configuration of the newly added SDN
switches. When it comes to the performance, there are problems such as load balancing, looping
and traffic related issues due to broadcast messages. To minimize these challenges the project
also brings solutions by implementing DHCP relays and STP inside the network. Also, with the
multi-controller architecture proposed it increase the efficiency and Performance. To automate
the initial configuration of the switches, the newly added switch is detected at first and then a
relationship is established between the newly added switch and an existing SDN switch. Then the
newly added switch establishes a connection with the automation server, which then results the
automation process to start. The proposed mechanism is implemented in a testing environment
using Mininet which creates a virtual environment, a RYU controller as the SDN controller and
the OpenFlow is used as the protocol for communication between interfaces. The proposed
mechanism will bring many benefits like minimize the errors and save time due to the automated
initial configuration in a hybrid-SDN environment, increase efficiency and Performance
comparing to the present hybrid-SDN environments.
