SDN Trust Management via Application Policy Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Software Defined Networking (SDN) systems face challenges in managing trust among applications due to the inability of controllers to distinguish eligibility, legality, and trustworthiness, leading to potential security vulnerabilities from poorly designed or buggy applications.
Innovation Solution
A trust management method and apparatus that collect network performance results and feedback to calculate a trust value for applications, using a trust evaluation module to assess and sign trust values, ensuring only trustworthy applications' policies are applied, and prioritizing policies based on trust values and conflict detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If SDN controllers allow applications to directly program network behaviors via northbound interface, then network programmability and flexibility are improved, but security vulnerabilities increase due to inability to distinguish application trustworthiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a trust evaluation module as an intermediary between SDN applications and the controller. This module evaluates applications' trustworthiness based on their behaviors and network policy execution results, then provides trust values to the controller. The controller uses these trust values to decide whether to apply network policies, thus resolving the security vulnerability while maintaining network programmability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If SDN controllers apply network policies from multiple applications, then network functionality and adaptability are improved, but system stability deteriorates due to policy conflicts and vulnerable applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary trust evaluation and policy conflict detection before applying network policies. The controller detects potential conflicts among network policies from different applications and evaluates application trustworthiness in advance. Only policies from trusted applications without conflicts are applied, ensuring system stability while maintaining network functionality.
3Reliability
If SDN systems monitor and evaluate all applications' trustworthiness, then security and reliability are improved, but system complexity and computational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service trust evaluation mechanism where applications automatically provide their identities and network policy information to the controller. The controller then evaluates their trustworthiness based on their actual network behaviors and policy execution results, rather than requiring manual verification. This automated self-service approach improves security while reducing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, computer program product and computer readable medium are disclosed for trust management in software defined networking. A method comprises: collecting network performance results after a network policy issued by an application is applied; collecting a feedback for the network policy; and calculating a trust value of the application based at least partly on the network performance results and the feedback.