Analytical Modeling of End-to-End Delay in OpenFlow Based Networks

OpenFlow enabled networks split and separate the data and control planes of traditional networks. This design commodifies network switches and enables centralized control of the network. Control decisions are made by an OpenFlow controller, and locally cached by switches, as directed by controllers. This can significantly impact the forwarding delay incurred by packets in switches, because controllers are not necessarily co-located with switches. Only very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of OpenFlow in terms of end-to-end delay. In this paper, we develop a stochastic model for the end to end delay in OpenFlow switches based on measurements made in Internet-scale experiments performed on three different platforms, i.e., Mininet, the GENI testbed, and the OF@TEIN testbed.