Evaluation Method For SDN Network Effectiveness in Next Generation Cellular Networks
Evaluation Method For SDN Network Effectiveness in Next Generation Cellular Networks
Evaluation Method For SDN Network Effectiveness in Next Generation Cellular Networks
International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security (IJCNIS) Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2018
Abstract: 5G mobile technology will become the new standard in bands optimized for specific frequencies, deployment of
the mobile communication market. New networks will focus on networks, and use case scenarios. 5G will also use novel
significantly improving service quality. The basis for their network architecture based on Network Function
construction will employ Software Defined Networking (SDN)
networks. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of two Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking
SDN implementing methods are analyzed. A mathematical method (SDN) [3, 4].
is used to assess their complex effectiveness, which considers SDN technology is perspective in the field of
Quality of Service requirements for implementing service through telecommunications. If we compare it with the traditional
special weights for scalability, performance, and packet delay. networking model, which is still relevant today, including
Simulations of Overlay networks are modeled by using software-
based switches to verify the adequacy of the proposed method. The Ukraine, SDN model has several advantages. Developers
results show that the use of SDN is more efficient by using IP identify the following: improving the efficiency of network
networks for large volumes of traffic and with a large amount of equipment by 25–30%; network operating costs decrease up
network equipment. Different approaches to building SDN to 30%; it enables users to create new software services and
management level architecture are compared. Based on our studies
quickly upload them to the network equipment.
and modeling, we suggest the use of distributed controller
architecture because of its higher level of reliability. SDN concept involves separation of traffic and control plane
[5]. In SDN networks, all hardware configurations (control
Keywords: SDN networks, architecture, management level
plane) is reassigned to a single central controller. Thus, SDN
structure, 5G mobile, quality of service, openFlow.
switches are simple devices, as their only function is
1. Introduction switching and data transmission (traffic plane). This
Cellular systems that combine the broad capabilities of improves the efficiency of network operations and increases
conventional radio and telephone communications have processing speed compared to traditional networking,
become a vital basis for the development of business activity, especially for large volumes of traffic, as traditional networks
improving state management systems as well as human require each device to perform routing independently.
communication [1]. As new technology develops, newer and Implementation of the SDN concept in practice will provide
more improved computing devices become available, independent equipment manufacturers control over an entire
providing users with more options and necessitating the network from a single location, which greatly simplifies its
presence of high-speed wireless Internet connections and operation. The simplification of network configuration is
driving their demand among users. In response to this equally important, as administrators do not have to enter
increased demand, mobile service providers are introducing hundreds of lines of code for individual switches or routers,
new technologies to their networks that are able to provide and network parameters can be quickly changed in real time.
users with the necessary bandwidth and throughput to ensure Accordingly, the time required to introduce new applications
high service quality. and services will greatly reduce.
Technology continues its development towards higher To implement SDN networks, two basic methods are used
productivity, presenting a greater number of opportunities. [6]:
To solve tasks that were impossible to solve using 3G and 1. Implementation of SDN based on the specific switch
4G, new technologies are appearing to supplement the (OpenFlow protocol).
existing range of radio access technologies.5G networks are a 2. Implementation of SDN Based on the Virtual Switch
new generation of radio systems and network architecture by Overlay Technology.
that presents maximum broadband with ultra-reliable, low Software-configured networks allow the use of extended
latency connectivity and a robust network for users and the functionality for computer network management. For
Internet of things [2,14]. example, it allows centralized management of all network
5G will be much more than just a new radio technology. It resources (such as communication channels and network
will combine existing radio access technology with new equipment), the ability to use software applications for the
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International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security (IJCNIS) Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2018
automatic management of network equipment configuration, of network resources, such as the number of channels,
the provision of additional network security, automatic bandwidth, QoS parameters, etc.
network reconfiguration in case of equipment failure or link OTS internal modules transmit hardware parameters to the
breakage, and the provision of Quality of Service (QoS) controller, notify the controller about the state changes of the
options such as traffic prioritization. In addition, SDN channel, and monitor performance. Optical switches of
networking simplifies network equipment management different manufacturers require different OTS modifications,
through standardization of the controller interaction protocol although most of the code is the same, and some modules
and the physical infrastructure. In this case, equipment differ because they interact directly with the physical switch
guided by the controller can perform functions not native to interfaces.
modern switches (e.g., firewall function). SDN networking
also optimizes routing for data streams and provides tools for
lightweight networks virtualization. Therefore, SDN
networks can be used in the architecture of present and future
cellular networks.
2. Using the SDN Concept in Cellular Networks
SND and SDR architecture involves replacing the varied
equipment types of a network (BSC, RNC, MSC, MGW,
SGSN, GGSN, MME, S-GW, P-GW, etc.) with a common
hardware platform on which all their functions are
virtualized. Rather than employing a wide variety of
equipment, a single powerful hypervisor is used to run virtual
machines, each of which performs a hardware function. Fig.
1 shows network architecture using SDR/SDN. This
architecture allows the creation of modern mobile networks
which can easily switch between standards (i.e., GSM,
UMTS, and LTE) and provide new services more quickly. In
addition, software-configured network can fundamentally
change optical transport networks, as SDN will apply Figure 2. The logic of Open Transport Switch
centralized network control, ensuring its programmability Control system by using OTS can operate in two modes:
and automation as well as providing different services for explicit and implicit, which are discussed in detail in [6].
different. QoS. Therefore, Open Networking Foundation To manage network nodes that do not have a connected OTS,
(ONF) conducts development of open transport switches a software application of the controller can be used. For
(OTS), which act as intermediaries between the controller example, developed by Adva [7], for converting OpenFlow
and the optical switch. controller commands to SNMP and vice versa. However, in
this case, management capabilities are limited by the
possibilities of the SNMP protocol.
Also, SDN networking can be used to discharge the radio
interface of cellular networks (Fig. 3).
Designing a network is a challenging task for every operator. calculated for the final result. Each side was given 30 s to
The first step is to understand common networking speak, simulating a 1-min conversation.
requirements. After identifying these requirements, we can Test results are summarized in the table 1. We can conclude
select key network characteristics that meet these that high speed bandwidth and low packets latency are
requirements. Networking devices must reflect the goals, necessary for the satisfactory use of advanced applications
characteristics, and policies of the service provider in which and services in networks.
they operate. Two primary goals drive networking design and
implementation: Application availability and Cost of 3. Evaluation of SDN Network Efficiency
ownership. A well-designed network can help balance these
To ensure the effective functioning of SDN networks,
objectives. When properly implemented, the network
infrastructure can optimize application availability and allow characteristics such as performance, latency, and scalability
the cost-effective use of existing network must first be assessed. These characteristics depend on the
resources.Therefore, when designing or optimizing the number of managed switches, their connectivity with the
network, we have to know the main requirements for the new controller, the intensity of received requests, and the time
applications which we want to implement. query processing of the controller. Thus, the efficiency of
SDN networks depends on the controller’s capability to adapt
to the increasing intensity of incoming requests from switches
and to ensure the quality of service by increasing the scale of
the network [11]. Thus, network scalability evaluation, based
on the concept of SDN, delay, and productivity, is an
important task in the design of new implementations and in
the expansion of existing network architecture [13].The main
goal of this work is the development of an efficiency
evaluation method for SDN networks, which will allow the
calculation of the main characteristics of SDN (latency,
performance, and scalability) for each type of network in a
variety of cases.
Determining the efficiency of entire SDN networks, or
parts thereof, for a particular application will be kept to the
Figure 4. New application implementation process
definition of complex criteria using the analytic hierarchy
As shown in Fig. 4, when implementing a new service, the process for each mobile operator. First, as shown in Fig. 5, a
mobile provider has to check the main characteristics of the definition of priorities will be conducted for different criteria.
network for compliance with the minimum threshold for each Fig. 5 shows the hierarchy in which the default priorities of
application to be implemented. Some characteristics will be elements are considered equal, that all four criteria are of
more valuable, as some are not critical for a given equal importance from the standpoint of goal, and priorities
application. Thus, we will use weights K1 – K5on future of all alternatives are equal in all criteria. In other words,
calculations for total efficiency. alternatives are indistinguishable in this example. Thus, the
Table 1. Value delay and transmission rate for various number of elements with priority at any level, is one.
services
Speed of receiving data
Type of service 0.3 1 2 6
Mbs Mbs Mbs Mbs
Open Website
32 s 10 s 5s 2s
(1.2 МВ)
Download email with 133 s
40 s 20 s 7s
attachments (5 МВ) (2 min)
Download the map in Google Figure 5. The hierarchical AHP structure with priorities
91 s 27 s 14 s 5s
Maps (≈3.5 МВ) Global alternatives priorities regarding the aim are computed
Download Flash game (3 МВ) 80 s 24 s 12 s 4s by multiplying the local priority of each alternative on each
267 s
Audio streaming (10 МВ) 80 s 40 s 13 s criterion priority and summation for all criteria.
(4 min)
Acceptation of priorities solutions can be either based on
HD – Full HD Video 1067 s 320 s 160 s
streaming from YouTube (40 (18 (5 (3 53 s objective data (including optimization methods and
МВ) min) min) min) probabilistic and statistic models) or based on the views of
2667 s 800 s 400s 133 s specialist (experts). In tasks of feasibility analysis always
Download the file from the uses a variety of expert estimates methods.
(44 (13 (7 (2
server FTP (100 МВ)
min) min) min) min) To assess the complex effectiveness, the use of a simpler
The most popular applications among users were tested. For model is proposed (Fig. 6).
example, 3 separate minutes of calls were allocated for each
application, and the amount of data used for each call was
recorded. Then the average of these three amounts was
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International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security (IJCNIS) Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2018
– the average distance to the controller in a decentralized the switch will again send a request to the controller
structure regarding the packet flow.
– the queue length for each controller in a decentralized
structure
– the receipt rate of the flow initiation request for each
controller in a decentralized structure
– the average service rate of controller in a decentralized
structure
– the number of controllers in a hierarchical structure
– the average distance to the controller in a hierarchical
structure
– the receipt rate of the flow initiation request for each
controller in a hierarchical structure
– the average service rate of controller in a hierarchical
structure
Based on the above presented formulas, we calculated Figure 13. A simulation model for different SDN network
scalability for SDN management level, shown in topologies:
Table 3 [10]. We verify the change in transfer rate with the increasing
number of hosts. Firstly, leave the network as in Fig. 13, but
Table 3. Scalability for SDN management level increase the number of hosts to 34. When the number of
SDN nodes increases, the network scalability becomes worse, but
network Scalability for SDN management level
with a small number of hosts, the effect is not so noticeable
structure
because the difference in scalability is insignificant. With a
K − N 24 .
Centralized
c (N 1 , N 2 ) large number of hosts, the network may not work at all.
structure K − N 14 . Next, we conduct research on the bandwidth of centralized
management level structure. For this purpose, we created a
Global K .m D − N 24 .
decentralized D , g (N 1 , N 2 ) simple HTTP server based on host h1 (Fig. 14).
structure K .m D − N 14 .
Local K .m D4 − N 24 .(d D .m D − d D + m D )
decentralized D ,1 (N 1 , N 2 )
K .m D4 − N 14 .(d D .m D − d D + m D )
structure Figure 14. Creation of the server
Hierarchical K .m H4 − N 24 .(d H .m H − d H + m H )
H (N 1 , N 2 ) For this test, host h2 attempts to access and download data
structure K .m H4 − N 14 .(d H .m H − d H + m H )
from host h1 by using command h2 wget – O – h1. Server
5. Simulation of Centralized, Local answers the wget command after it is sent from host h2 by
Decentralized, and Global Decentralized sending an ACK response. Having received the ACK
response, host h2 has access to the necessary data on the
Management Level Structures
server on host h1. The data transfer rate in this case is 66.9
Different approaches of building SDN management level Mbit/s. The same test was conducted for other types of
architecture were studied. In the MiniEdit software structures, and the results are shown in Table 4.
environment, a simulation model of SDN network was
Table 4. Average data rate for a request in different SDN
developed for different topologies (Fig. 13). To confirm the
network structures
efficiency of the network, connections between network
SDN network structure Average data rate for
nodes were tested. After running the network, its a request
performance was tested by using the pingall function.
Centralized structure 66.9 Мbit/s
a – the model of centralized management architecture; b – the
Decentralized structure 137 Мbit/s
management level model of global decentralized architecture;
Hierarchical structure 142 Мbit/s
c – the management level model of local decentralized
architecture The data rate in a hierarchical structure is 142 Mbit/s, which
The network data rate was also studied with the ping is higher than in a centralized and global decentralized
command. The first packet has the longest transmit because architecture. This shows that the local decentralized approach
the initial switch has no corresponding record in the flows to building network architecture is better in comparison with
table. When the first packet arrives, the switch sends it to the centralized and global decentralized one with regard to data
controller. The controller decides and instructs all switches to rate.
add information about this way to the flows table. After that, 6. Conclusions
the switch will not ask the controller how to process these
packets, and will transfer according to its flows table. When a We can safely state that 5G technology will become the new
switch does not have information about an arriving packet, standard in the mobile communication market. New networks
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International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security (IJCNIS) Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2018
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