SDN-Based Enterprise and Campus Networks: A Case of VLAN Management

Abstract

The Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) has been used for a long time in campus and enterprise networks as the most popular network virtualization solution. Due to the benefits and advantages achieved by using VLAN, network operators and administrators have been using it for constructing their networks up until now and have even extended it to manage the networking in a cloud computing system. However, their configuration is a complex, tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone process. Since Software Defined Networking (SDN) features the centralized network management and network programmability, it is a promising solution for handling the aforementioned challenges in VLAN management. In this paper, we first introduce a new architecture for campus and enterprise networks by leveraging SDN and OpenFlow. Next, we have designed and implemented an application for easily managing and flexibly troubleshooting the VLANs in this architecture. This application supports both static VLAN and dynamic VLAN configurations. In addition, we discuss the hybrid-mode operation where the packet processing is involved by both the OpenFlow control plane and the traditional control plane. By deploying a real test-bed prototype, we illustrate how our system works and then evaluate the network latency in dynamic VLAN operation.