Integration of MTD System in SDN Architecture

Project Title

Integration of MTD System in SDN Architecture

Project Area of Specialization Cyber SecurityProject Summary

The novel idea behind software-defined networking is the dissection of intelligence from the networking devices and their amalgamation into a single entity called controller.In conventional networking, every networking device possesses intelligence that is used for determining the destination of the packets. If there is a large network consisting of many networking devices then it can be inferred that there are more number ofintelligent processing elements which can be referred as ‘networking brains’. In large and dense network, every networking device processes the inflow and outflow traffic. The large number of processing elements increasesthe processing time that causes asharp increase in latency of the packets.This is why the large conventional networks face performance degradation due to the intelligence of every networking node. Besides the increase in latency, the storage complexity also increases because every networking device has to keep the records of protocols and packets.

SDN tackles this problem by intelligently dissecting intelligence from all networking devices. All the decisions related to packet transmission take place in SDN Controller. This centralizedapproach eliminates the individual burdens of network devices like the management of routing protocols and access-control lists.The major drawback of centralized approach is security loophole. The probability of ‘single point of failure’ is an integral part of centralized architectures. A compromise in the security of centralized node (SDN Controller) can cause the failure of entire network infrastructure. This is why security is a primary challenge for SDN architecture. In order to maintain the security,we aim to integrate the technique of MTD (Moving Target Defense) in SDN architecture which can provides security. The basic idea behind MTD is dynamic target, that is, there is no fixed address, port or controller. The information gained by the attacker during the process of reconnaissance becomes useless in the presence of MTD technique.

Project Objectives

Following are the key objectives of the project:

• To implement Software Defined Network (SDN) by using open source technologies.
• To implement the technique of Moving Target Defense (MTD) for enhancing the security of SDN architecture.
• To make the technology of SDN feasible and affordable.
• To present the SDN product that can be used for customized topologies and environments.

Project Implementation Method

For the implementation, following primary software and tools are being used:

• Oracle VirtualBox
• Ubuntu
• Mininet
• Open vSwtich
• Ryu Controller

VirtualBox is used for creating virtual environment. The main target of the project is cloud infrastructure. In cloud infrastructure, there exist multiple virtual machines which are assigned to dedicated users. For simulating the such environment, we are using VirtualBox.

We are using Ubuntu as our core operating system. Ubuntu is a flavor of Linux that is dedicated for development

Mininet is used for creating the topologies and testing their simulation. We are using it for developing customized topologies.

Open vSwitch or Open Virtual Switch is a virtual switch that is used in SDN architecture.

Ryu controller is open source SDN controller based on Python programming language. It is more feasible for our environment as compared to Open Day Light or POX,

Integration & Implementation:

1. The virtual machine is created by using virtualization software (VirtualBox).
2. Ubuntu is used as core operating system in newly created virtual machine.
3. All the tools are installed in the machine.
4. Network topology is created using Mininet.
5. Open vSwitch is referenced in topology that is used as virtual switch in SDN.
6. A program for establishing the network rules or configurations is created using Ryu framework.
7. The Ryu program is run in the background that works on the implemented topology for the transmission of packets.

Benefits of the Project

Benefits of the Project:

1. The project can replace conventional networks while increasing the performance as the project is based on SDN.
2. There is only one major issue of SDN, that is, centralized architecture. This project can secure SDN by using the technique of MTD (Moving Target Defense).
3. This can provide security of organizations and data centers.
4. This can be used for providing security to banks while minimizing the transaction time.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

A customized network topology is built that works on the rules established through SDN Controller.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry ITOther IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther Technologies Cloud InfrastructureSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	80000
SDN Equipments	Equipment	1	70000	70000
Filing and Printing	Miscellaneous	1	3000	3000
Stationary	Miscellaneous	3	1000	3000
Travel Expenses	Miscellaneous	1	4000	4000