Incremental SDN Deployment via Port Segmentation and Gateway Abstraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network management approaches for enterprise networks are cumbersome and labor-intensive, and the transition to Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is challenging due to the need for full network upgrades and the interaction between legacy and SDN control planes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dividing network switchports into SDN and legacy ports, using SDN switches to control traffic, and employing the Panopticon architecture to abstract the network into a logical SDN, allowing incremental deployment and extending SDN capabilities to legacy switches, thereby enabling a transitional network with a partial SDN deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If SDN is deployed as a drop-in replacement for the existing network, then network management is simplified and flexibility is enhanced, but the network requires complete upgrade with programmable switches which incurs high cost and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The network is segmented into SDN ports and legacy ports, allowing SDN functionality to be selectively applied to specific network segments rather than requiring complete network replacement. This enables incremental deployment where only necessary portions of the network are upgraded to SDN, reducing overall complexity and cost while maintaining management simplification benefits in the SDN-controlled segments.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of implementing SDN across the entire network (excessive action), the patent applies SDN partially to specific ports and segments where it provides the most value. This partial deployment allows organizations to achieve SDN benefits in critical areas without the prohibitive cost and complexity of full-network replacement, enabling a pragmatic transition path.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dual-stack approach is used to partition flow space between SDN and legacy processing, then transitional deployment is enabled, but the approach does not address how legacy and SDN control planes should interact and requires contiguous deployment of hybrid programmable switches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary component that mediates between legacy switches and SDN controllers. This gateway handles the interaction and protocol translation between the two control planes, eliminating the need for complex hybrid switches while enabling seamless communication and coordination between legacy and SDN network segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the control plane functionality from the data plane by separating the SDN controller from the switches. Instead of requiring hybrid switches that combine both legacy and SDN capabilities, the control intelligence is extracted into a separate software component that can manage both legacy and SDN ports through the gateway interface.
3Adaptability or versatility
If SDN is deployed at the network access edge, then full control over access policy and new network functionality are enabled, but upgrading thousands of access switches incurs high cost and control over core network forwarding decisions is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into access, distribution, and core layers, applying SDN selectively to distribution and core layers rather than requiring upgrade of all access switches. This allows SDN to provide centralized policy control for access networks while avoiding the prohibitive cost of upgrading every access switch, maintaining both policy control capabilities and cost efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The SDN controller is designed as a universal control plane that can manage multiple types of switches and ports (both legacy and SDN-capable) through a unified interface. This multi-functional controller can enforce access policies across the entire network regardless of the underlying switch hardware, eliminating the need to upgrade all access switches while maintaining full policy control.
4Ease of manufacture
If legacy switches are used without SDN abstraction, then existing network infrastructure is maintained, but network management remains cumbersome and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway acts as an intermediary that provides SDN-like management capabilities for legacy switches. It translates high-level SDN policies into low-level configurations that legacy switches can understand and execute, thereby maintaining the existing infrastructure while significantly improving network management ease through centralized, automated policy control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual representation or copy of the legacy network infrastructure within the SDN controller. This virtual model allows the controller to manage legacy switches as if they were native SDN devices, providing simplified abstraction and automation without requiring physical replacement of the legacy hardware.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(c)
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
The present invention provides a method of operating a network comprising legacy switches and software-defined networking, SDN, switches with a plurality of switchports. The plurality of switchports in the network is divided into a set of SDN ports and a set of legacy ports. However, a SDN ports it is not necessarily physically located on an SDN switch. Rather, a SDN port may be connected to a SDN switch or a legacy switch. The network traffic is controlled such that traffic to and/or from any one of the SDN ports passes through at least one of the SDN switches. Thereby, the method provides an abstraction of the network into a logical software-defined network. The invention further provides a tool for selecting a number of legacy switches in a network to be replaced by SDN switches in order to incrementally deploy the network to a partially deployed network, and a method for planning incremental deployment of a network comprising legacy switches using the tool.