Dynamic Traffic Diversion in SDN: testbed vs Mininet

In this paper, we first propose a simple Dynamic Traffic Diversion (DTD) algorithm for Software Defined Networks (SDN). After implementing the algorithm inside the controller, we then compare the results obtained under two different test environments: 1) a testbed using real Cisco equipment and 2) a network emulation using Mininet. From the results, we get two key messages. First, we can clearly see that dynamically diverting important traffic on a backup path will prevent packet loss and reduce jitter. Finally, the two test environments provide relatively similar results. The small differences could be explained by the early field trial image that was used on the Cisco equipment and by the many setting parameters that are available in both environments.