SDN Address Monitoring for Planned Configuration Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The configuration of software-defined networks (SDNs) is challenging due to the need for precise management of communication flows and the potential for deviations between desired and actual network configurations, often leading to issues like blocked traffic and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
An SDN controller is automated to monitor and detect changes in device addresses, such as MAC and IP addresses, and provide operator notifications, allowing for automated updates to align the planned configuration with the operational implementation, thereby reducing the burden on network administrators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual configuration management is used in SDN, then network administrators have full control over configuration, but the workload and time required for configuration maintenance increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically detecting configuration deviations and generating correction flows without human intervention. The controller monitors the SDN, compares actual configuration against intended configuration, and automatically creates remediation flows to correct discrepancies, reducing administrative workload while maintaining control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring the SDN configuration state and comparing it against the intended configuration. When deviations are detected, the system provides feedback through operator notifications and automatically generates correction flows, creating a closed-loop configuration management system that reduces manual intervention time.
2Measurement precision
If automated monitoring and detection is implemented, then configuration accuracy and deviation detection improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is segmented into distinct functional components: a monitoring subsystem that detects address changes, a comparison mechanism that identifies configuration deviations, and a flow generation subsystem that creates correction flows. This modular segmentation improves detection accuracy while managing complexity through separated concerns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary configuration database that stores the intended network configuration. This intermediary serves as a reference point for detecting deviations and enables automated comparison without requiring complex direct analysis between all network elements, thereby improving detection accuracy while controlling system complexity.
3Reliability
If continuous monitoring of device addresses is performed, then configuration deviations are detected promptly, but computational resources and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring subsystem performs periodic sampling of device addresses and configuration states rather than continuous real-time monitoring. This periodic action maintains configuration consistency and detects deviations reliably while reducing computational resource consumption and processing overhead compared to continuous monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure pertains to systems and methods for monitoring and configuring a software-defined network (SDN). A system may include a communication interface to communicate a plurality of communication flows to a plurality of network devices in the SDN and to receive information from the plurality of network devices related to traffic in the SDN between a plurality of hosts. A configuration subsystem may generate the plurality of communication flows based on a planned configuration. A monitoring subsystem may monitor information from the plurality of network devices related to traffic in the SDN to identify a change to at least one aspect of the planned configuration. An operator-interface subsystem to generate an alert regarding the change. The configuration subsystem may implement an update to the planned configuration based on the change.