Architecture and Deployment Models-SDN Protocols, APIs, and Layers, Applications and Implementations

Abstract

The current Internet infrastructure is not anticipating such a growth of IoT and increasing the network complexity. New network architecture for the management of IoT data flow and also catering to the Quality of Service of different IoT services is required. The existing incompatible solutions are limited to the early adoption of IoT. The standardization bodies, industries, researches were involved in developing standards to support end-to-end connection, interoperation between devices from different vendors and also provide cost-efficient solutions. The Working Groups (WG) at the IETF introduced new solutions that have allowed the connection of low-power wireless networks to the Internet. In spite of the vast exploration of solutions for deploying IoT, the management of IoT networks requires complex routing topologies with a simplified user operation. This gives rise to the need for centralized network control which is facilitated by Software Defined Networking (SDN). SDN was a standard technology for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) already available which is the early version of IoT as the world knows it today. SDN provides a framework to ease the complexity involved in the management of sophisticated networks. We discuss various protocols present in the architecture along with the research challenges for the future.