SDN Benefits in a Legacy World

Abstract: This dissertation aims to explore how one could leverage Software Defined Network (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) principles in order to realize Service Function Chaining (SFC) in a network. SDN is a new networking paradigm, which makes a network programmable through the use of a software entity called SDN controller. NFV is intended to enable deployment of virtualized network functions, therefore replacing existing hardware solutions. SFC provides the ability to route user traffic to one or more network functions in an orderly manner. SFC will potentially enable many use cases such as data providers being able to dynamically steer user traffic through a set of network functions such as rewall and loadbalancer. This study is based on a set of goals. These goals evolve around the implementation of a prototype that will enable a SDN controller to steer user traffic through a series of virtualized network functions (VNFs). An important part of the prototype setup is a Network Management Software (NMS) named BECS, which is developed by Packetfront Software AB. BECS is acting as an orchestrator on the network and has complete awareness of all the network devices present on the network it manages. One of the main requirements of the prototype is to enable BECS to communicate with a SDN controller. Once that has been achieved, BECS could provide the necessary information that the controller needs in order to create and install a set of forwarding rules in the SDN enabled switches of the network. All those steps are necessary in order to achieve SFC. In this prototype, SFC is realized by demonstrating the user specific traffic steering through a set of VNFs in a specific order, based on control messages originated from BECS. Until now, network architecture has been limited to the capabilities of the actual hardware equipment. SDN and NFV help us to overcome this limitation. Information needs to be available anywhere and at any time, in a reliable and secure way. To ensure that, we propose a new scheme of network architecture through our prototype solution. This solution intends to give the ability to network managers to re-shape their networks based on their needs by the use of SFC.