A hierarchical control plane for software-defined networks-based industrial control systems

摘要

Modern Industrial Control Systems (ICS) integrate advanced solutions from the field of traditional IP networks, i.e., Software-Defined Networks (SDN), in order to increase the security and resilience of communication infrastructures. Despite their clear advantages, such solutions also expose ICS to common cyber threats that may have a dramatic impact on the functioning of critical infrastructures, e.g., the power grid. As a response to these issues, this work develops a novel hierarchical SDN control plane for ICS. The approach builds on the features of a novel SDN controller named OptimalFlow that redesigns the network according to the solutions delivered by an integer linear programming (ILP) optimization problem. The developed ILP problem encapsulates a shortest path routing objective and harmonizes ICS flow requirements including quality of service, security of communications, and reliability. OptimalFlow exposes two communication interfaces to enable a hierarchical control plane. Its northbound interface reduces a complete switch infrastructure to an emulated (software) switch, while its southbound interface connects to an OpenFlow controller to enable the monitoring and control of real/emulated switches. Extensive experimental and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme.