HDDP: Hybrid Domain Discovery Protocol for heterogeneous devices in SDN

Abstract

Computer networks are adopting the new Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture, however not all devices can support it, mainly due to power and computational constraints. This paper proposes the Hybrid Domain Discovery Protocol (HDDP), a new discovery protocol that enhances theexisting OpenFlow Discovery Protocol (OFDP). HDDP allows thediscovery of hybrid network topologies composed of both SDNand non-SDN devices, which no other state-of-the-art protocolcan achieve. HDDP has been implemented in a software switchand emulated in diverse networks, where it discovers hybrid topologies by using a number of messages similar to competitors,as they only discover SDN devices.