Optimized Switch-Controller Association For Data Center

Abstract

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a new paradigm used in Wide Area Networks and Data Centers. This technology considers two levels: first, the control plane represented by controllers. Those ones are dedicated to the network management and secondly, the data plane devoted to the execution of network functions. Data plane executes the controller instructions and performs routing of packets thanks to switches called forwarding devices. However, the static assignment of switches to controllers may cause problems of network latency resulting from traffic load variations especially in a data center. In this paper, we propose a novel approach based on communication between controllers in order to define the total load of the network and balance it among all controllers according to their capacities. For this, we propose an algorithm assigning switches to controllers in an optimal way. Results obtained confirm the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in terms of network latency.