The Rise of Software-Defined Networking (SDN): A Paradigm Shift in Cloud Data Centers

Abstract

: Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a novel network paradigm that intelligently manages the network's resources. The global view of a network is achieved through the separation of the data plane and network control. The abstraction of the network to its application and services is facilitated by the logically centralized control plane. SDN offers the potential to enhance network performance by utilizing the information exchanged between various layers in the network architecture and feedback control, which is facilitated by a global view of the network. SDN enables the network administrator to configure the network from a single point using software control. The entire network can be configured through programming and is dynamically optimized based on the network status. OpenFlow-based SDN technologies offer improved orchestration of network resources, are adaptable to evolving business requirements, and reduce operational complexities. The Network Function Virtualization (NFV) paradigm virtualizes the networking functions, similar to the hypervisors used for compute functions, and implements the entire suite of networking services as Virtual Machines (VMs). This article provides a comprehensive examination of the influence of Software-Defined Networks on data centers that are enabled by Cloud Computing. This article provides a performance comparison of ONOS and ODL data controllers on a variety of parameters, including throughput, jitter, and loss.