White paper for the Caduceus CTO

SDN & IBN Assignment CMIT 495: Current Trends and Projects in Computer Networks and Security [PROFESSOR NAME] By: [NAME] Introduction Technology is fast advancing and with that new inventions such as machine automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and virtualization continue to revolutionize how we do things. Network management is equally impacted by these technological changes and the shift from traditional management that has been considered expensive to new inventions considered flexible and cost-efficient is necessary. In the network management sector, one of the most relevant inventions in the past few years is software-defined networking (SDN) and Intent-based networking (IBN). On the one hand, SDN has reshaped how network managers and admins improve and enhance network elasticity, agility, and flexibility. On the other hand, IBN has brought the much-needed automation to drive toward more efficiency and predictability in network operations and management (Klymash, Luntovskyy, & Scherm, n.d). This paper discusses IBN, SDN, the relationship between the two inventions, and how SDN and IBN architecture compare with traditionally deployed networks. Regarding Caduceus CTO the benefits of SDN and IBN concepts are highlighted in this paper, together with all it will take the organization to implement and leverage these technologies. Software Defined Networking (SDN) SDN refers to a new network architectural model enabling programmatic management, control, and optimization of network resources, thus a faster and more efficient network operation. Traditional networks relied heavily on hardware for controlling network traffic hence more costs, high disruption rates, and low efficiency (Facchini et al., 2021). SDN, unlike the traditional network, employs an application programming interface (API) or software-based controllers to communicate with an underlying hardware infrastructure to direct traffic flows on a network. The separation of network configuration from the underlying hardware infrastructure offers much-needed control and flexibility over network operations. Traditional networking was characterized by three distinct planes namely the data plane, management plane, and control plane. All these planes worked together to ensure that traffic was managed, data transmitted, and network devices configured. Specifically, a data plane in a traditional network forwards and processes data based on the configurations provided by the control plan (Haji et al., 2021). SDN offers a new approach that seeks to enhance agility, programmability, and flexibility. Its concept is based on plan separation where there is a division of the control plane from the data plane. With this separation, the network is expected to work more faster and efficiently and to adapt to the changing business needs while still being in a position to safeguard the existing infrastructure. In addition to plane separation and APIs, SDN leverages on control layer, application layer, and infrastructure layer. First, the application layer helps bridge the gap between traditional networks and SDN, hence increased performance. Secondly, the control layer which is a major component of SDN offers the communication interface between network-controlled apps and network elements. This ensures that a network is managed with efficiency, security, and scalability. Fourthly, the SNDs infrastructure layer which is composed of major network devices such as servers, switches, and storage devices, helps process control data and its forwarding. The infrastructure layer is critical because it offers the platform necessary for management and control planes to communicate. Finally, northbound and southbound APIs are also crucial. Northbound APIs which are the interface between SDN control and applications, allow the application to communicate its requirements to the network and receive needed resources in return (Haji et al., 2021). Southbound APIS which is the interface within the SDN allows for communication between switches, routers, and SDN controllers with the network infrastructure. Since SDN is more advanced than the traditional network its advantages include cost, security, scalability, centralization, and optimization. It has disadvantages which include high maintenance, and latency which demand more virtualization resources for increased speed, complexity, high configuration, and decreased device safety and security. Figure 1: Chakraborti et al., 2021 Figure 2: Difference between Traditional Network and SDN Gupta et al., (2022) Intent-Based Networking (IBN) Wit...