Providing network resilience through an intelligent SDN network

Abstract

SDN is an architecture designed to make a network more flexible and easier to manage. SDN consolidates management by removing the control layer from the data forwarding function on discrete networking devices. This architecture allows networks to connect directly to applications via APIs, enhancing application performance and security as mentioned above. In addition, using SDN a network engineer or administrator can configure traffic from a central control console without having to deal with switches or routers on the network. The central controller SDN directs the switches to provide network services where needed, regardless of the specific connections between server and device. In view of the above, let me mention that traditional networking is based on fixed network devices, such as a switch or router and other physical infrastructure for networking and network operation, as opposed to software-based SDN. Therefore, the most noticeable difference between SDN and traditional networking is that SDN is software based, whereas traditional networking is usually hardware based. Because it is software based it is more flexible, allowing users more control and ease of managing resources at almost the entire control level. In this way, SDN has become a popular alternative to traditional networking, as it allows IT administrators to provide resources and bandwidth without the need for additional physical infrastructure investment. A traditional networking requires new hardware to increase network capacity. In terms of security, SDN provides a variety of benefits. An administrator can split a network connection between an end user and the data center and have different security settings for different types of network traffic. A network could have a low-security public network that does not touch sensitive information. Another section could have much more detailed remote access control with firewalls based on software and encryption policies to enable sensitive information. SDN also introduces new capabilities for network management and configuration methods. For example, SDN has the ability to obtain instantaneous network status so that it allows centralized control of a network in real time based on both the instantaneous network status and user-defined policies. This leads to additional benefits in optimizing network settings and improving network performance. Finally, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Network Defined Network (SDN) are two emerging technologies. IoT aims to connect objects over the Internet, and SDN provides orchestration for network management by disconnecting the control layer and the data layer. The number of connected objects is in the billions, and managing and controlling it is a complex task for a large distributed network. SDN provides flexibility and programming capability on the IoT network without compromising the underlying architecture of existing applications.