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On Profiling, Benchmarking and Behavioral Analysis of SDN Architecture Under DDoS Attacks

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Abstract

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) has attracted much attention from research and industrial communities recently as it is more agile and flexible compared to conventional networking technology in offering new network functions and services. By separating the network control functions from the forwarding devices and placing them in a centralized, softwarized and programmable SDN controller, new network functions and services can be easily added into the network in an on-demand manner. However, the centralized control paradigm and the flow-based forwarding principle make the SDN architecture more fragile and vulnerable to malicious actions, such as cyber hijacking or DDoS attacks. In this paper, we focus on analyzing and evaluating negative impacts of DDoS attacks on the SDN architecture. By performing stress tests, the performance of such common SDN controllers as POX, Ryu and Floodlight under DDoS attacks is benchmarked, along with their impacts on the SDN switch and OpenFlow channel. We also address some new threats and vulnerabilities introduced by the nature of SDN.

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Author notes

  1. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Dang Anh Khoa, Le Cong Tuan, Nguyen Trung Kien, Nguyen Xuan Dung and Ngo Quynh Thu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hanoi University of Science And Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Hanoi, 11657, Vietnam

    Nguyen Huu Thanh, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Dang Anh Khoa, Le Cong Tuan, Nguyen Xuan Dung & Ngo Quynh Thu

  2. University of Würzburg, Sanderring 2, Würzburg, 97070, Germany

    Nguyen Trung Kien

  3. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Suurstoffi 1, Rotkreuz, 6343, Switzerland

    Florian Wamser

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  1. Nguyen Huu Thanh
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Thanh, N.H., Tuan, N.N., Khoa, D.A. et al. On Profiling, Benchmarking and Behavioral Analysis of SDN Architecture Under DDoS Attacks. J Netw Syst Manage 31, 43 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10922-023-09732-5

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