Software-Defined Networks: Existing Approaches, Development and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, software implementing networking functionality has become an emerging technology, which is gaining popularity among researchers. Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging network design and management paradigm that abstracts network information in a flexible way to tackle the complexity of traditional networks. In traditional network devices, roles are catalogued as independently working functional planes which interact with each other using  proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs). To address the issue of the rapid configuration of network devices, SDN defines a methodology where the control plane can be centralized with the purpose of gathering information from the network devices. These devices can perform pure forwarding plane functions and communicate with multiple data planes implemented by different vendors.

The promise of SDN is to create an infrastructure that is much more agile and flexible through ‘SDN automation’ to create programmable networks. With SDN automation, the goals of SDN are still being met by allowing the applications to influence forwarding decisions, and the APIs are available to build an application and use the APIs. This makes the network programmable, but not necessary flexible.

Regardless of which controllers and standard-based APIs (northbound) used, additional programmability of the network can enable better bandwidth utilization, improved application performance, and maximum operational efficiency.

Streaming telemetry is an approach for collecting data from network devices. Streaming telemetry pushes a stream of information from network devices, sending out to the necessary operational data center at the edge of the network or at a remote cloud data center. It may be programmed to send data periodically or based on specific events.

However, in-depth research efforts on systems, networks, and architectures of streaming telemetry for efficient large-scale collection are still being researched to fill the gaps between satisfying the quality of forwarding routing decisions and cost-effective SDN automation and operations.

The interaction of controllers from different vendors could enhance the separation between networking devices with the application of SDN. This helps in achieving exceptional flexibility in programmability and has enormous potential.

Thus, this Special Issue will present the researcher community with the latest research on existing approaches, developments and challenges in SDN as an emerging technology that addresses network automation by enabling new ways of network communications and services through evolving networking devices and systems with adaptive and scalable functionalities.

The aim of this Special Issue is to invite researchers to submit original manuscripts that cover and explore existing approaches, developments, and challenges in software-defined networking (SDN). This Special Issue solicits novel papers on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to:

Cutting-edge technologies, existing studies, and innovative developments that can realize and elevate the effectiveness and challenges of the emerging SDN-assisted technologies.

All papers submitted to this Special Issue should focus on state-of-the-art research in various aspects of smarter network systems and automation, supported with SDN, from academic and industry viewpoints. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Architecture, networking protocols, QoS, and streaming-telemetry design;
• Communication protocols for SDN—via overlays;
• Communication protocols for SDN—via APIs;
• Field trials and deployments of SDN—controllers;
• SDN controllers based on cloud platforms and edge data centers;
• Interworking of SDN with SDN protocols;
• SDN architecture integration with artificial intelligence;
• SDN-based automation over container orchestration platforms;
• Security and performance of SDN for collecting network device information;
• Traffic engineering and flow recovery in SDN;
• Wireless-enabled intelligent transportation systems;
• Streaming-efficient solutions for various problems, such as topology management, configuration scheduling, routing, and localization. 

Dr. Lionel Nkenyereye
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• SDN
• network systems
• communication protocols
• SDN automation
• streaming telemetry