Implementing Software Defined Load Balancer and Firewall

Abstract

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an architecture that aims to make networks fast and flexible. SDN's goal is to improve network control by enabling service providers as well as enterprises to respond quickly to changing business needs. In SDN, the administrator can shape traffic from a centralized control console without having to modify any of the individual switches belonging to the network. The SDN controller which is centralized directs the switches to deliver network services wherever they are needed, irrespective of the specific connections between a server and devices. This methodology is a shift from traditional network architecture, in which individual network devices make traffic decisions based on their configured routing tables. In this paper, I built and tested an SDN load balancer and firewall module using the Floodlight controller.