Workshop Identifying SDN Research Problems For Large-Scale Production Networks

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This workshop brings together members of the research community and representatives from companies that are deploying software defined networks (SDN). The researchers are leaders from both the academic and industrial research communities. The industrial representatives are part of the Open Network User Group (ONUG). The ONUG community includes financial institutions and other enterprises that have extremely large-scale networks, deploy SDN in their production networks and have real-time and security requirements that are more stringent than many other large-scale networks. They have not interacted with the research community in the past, but now are willing to participate in an open workshop. Including participants who have first-hand experience deploying SDN will enhance the workshop with valuable insights that are not generally available to researchers. The companies, especially the financial companies, while retaining proprietary information about their networks, are willing to discuss the architecture, scale, technologies, the use of SDN, and the problems they face. The workshop will introduce researchers to a community with which there has been little interaction. The research community will gain valuable insight into aspects of SDN that are already implemented and problems that remain to be solved. Intellectual Merit: By interacting with early adopters of Software Defined Networking (SDN) technologies who are deploying SDN in extremely large-scale enterprise networks, the research community will gain valuable insight into aspects of SDN that are already implemented and fundamental research problems, especially in the areas of real-time, scale, and security, that remain to be solved. The companies would in turn gain from resulting research solutions. Broader Impacts: The workshop is important because it connects the researcher community with an industry that is leading the adoption and use of SDN, but which has not interacted with researchers in the past. Three extra slots at the workshop are for PhD students from under-represented groups.