METHOD OF HANDLING PACKET FLOW IN SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORK, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT, AND SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORK

摘要

A method of handling packet flow in Software-Defined Network (SDN) comprising a server (11) with a SDN controller (11a) and a SDN switch (12) with a flow table (12a, 12b, 12c) comprising detailed entries (A.1, A.2, A.3 B.1, B.2, B.3, C.1) defining parameters necessary for assigning a packet to a data flow, and a field defining priority, wherein the detailed entries are included in corresponding aggregated entries (A, B, C), which are prepared in advance before commencing handling flows in a time window having a predefined length, according to the invention is characterized in that the controller (11a) acquires from the switch (12) data related to flow statistics for the entries installed in flow tables. An incoming packet (P1) belonging to a new flow is forwarded to the controller (11a), simultaneously being handled according to the corresponding aggregated entry, and the controller (11a) defines, by means of a reactive mechanism, a new detailed entry corresponding to the flow. Furthermore, the controller (11a) proactively modifies the aggregated entries (A, B, C) intended for the use in the next time window, using a static optimisation based on data related to flow statistics, wherein the aggregated entries (A, B, C) have assigned lower priorities than detailed entries (A.1, A.2, A.3 B.1, B.2, B.3, C.1).