Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer

The software-defined networking (SDN) paradigm relies on the decoupling of the control plane and data plane. Northbound interfaces enable the implementation of network services through logical centralised control. Suitable northbound interfaces and application-oriented abstractions are the core of t...

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Main Authors: Yufeng Jia, Jiadong Ren, Xianshan Li, Haitao He, Pengwei Zhang, Rong Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2025-02-01
Series:PeerJ Computer Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/cs-2674.pdf
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author Yufeng Jia
Jiadong Ren
Xianshan Li
Haitao He
Pengwei Zhang
Rong Li
author_facet Yufeng Jia
Jiadong Ren
Xianshan Li
Haitao He
Pengwei Zhang
Rong Li
author_sort Yufeng Jia
collection DOAJ
description The software-defined networking (SDN) paradigm relies on the decoupling of the control plane and data plane. Northbound interfaces enable the implementation of network services through logical centralised control. Suitable northbound interfaces and application-oriented abstractions are the core of the SDN ecosystem. This article presents an architecture to represent the network as a graph. The purpose of this architecture is to implement an abstraction of the SDN controller at the application plane. We abstract all network elements using a graph model, with the attributes of the elements as the attributes of the graph. This virtualized logical abstraction layer, which is not limited by the physical network, enables network administrators to schedule network resources directly in a global view. The feasibility of the presented graph abstraction was verified through experiments in topological display, dynamic route, access control, and data persistence. The performance of the shortest path in the graph-based abstraction layer and graph database proves the necessity of the graph abstraction layer. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the graph-based abstraction layer can facilitate network slicing, maintain a dependable depiction of the real network, streamline network administration and network application development, and provide a sophisticated abstraction that is easily understandable to network administrators.
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spelling doaj-art-16bc3380cc4b455baa0a5b6b9388f6c02025-08-20T02:13:03ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ Computer Science2376-59922025-02-0111e267410.7717/peerj-cs.2674Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layerYufeng Jia0Jiadong Ren1Xianshan Li2Haitao He3Pengwei Zhang4Rong Li5School of Information Science and Engineering, Xinjiang College of Science and Technology, Korla, Xinjiang, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Engineering, Xinjiang College of Science and Technology, Korla, Xinjiang, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Engineering, Xinjiang College of Science and Technology, Korla, Xinjiang, ChinaThe software-defined networking (SDN) paradigm relies on the decoupling of the control plane and data plane. Northbound interfaces enable the implementation of network services through logical centralised control. Suitable northbound interfaces and application-oriented abstractions are the core of the SDN ecosystem. This article presents an architecture to represent the network as a graph. The purpose of this architecture is to implement an abstraction of the SDN controller at the application plane. We abstract all network elements using a graph model, with the attributes of the elements as the attributes of the graph. This virtualized logical abstraction layer, which is not limited by the physical network, enables network administrators to schedule network resources directly in a global view. The feasibility of the presented graph abstraction was verified through experiments in topological display, dynamic route, access control, and data persistence. The performance of the shortest path in the graph-based abstraction layer and graph database proves the necessity of the graph abstraction layer. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the graph-based abstraction layer can facilitate network slicing, maintain a dependable depiction of the real network, streamline network administration and network application development, and provide a sophisticated abstraction that is easily understandable to network administrators.https://peerj.com/articles/cs-2674.pdfSoftware-defined networking (SDN)Graph modelAbstraction layerNetwork application management
spellingShingle Yufeng Jia
Jiadong Ren
Xianshan Li
Haitao He
Pengwei Zhang
Rong Li
Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
PeerJ Computer Science
Software-defined networking (SDN)
Graph model
Abstraction layer
Network application management
title Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
title_full Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
title_fullStr Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
title_full_unstemmed Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
title_short Construction of a user-friendly software-defined networking management using a graph-based abstraction layer
title_sort construction of a user friendly software defined networking management using a graph based abstraction layer
topic Software-defined networking (SDN)
Graph model
Abstraction layer
Network application management
url https://peerj.com/articles/cs-2674.pdf
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