Enhancing east-west interface security in heterogeneous SDN via blockchain

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Network Security

Background:

• Heterogeneous Software Defined Networking (SDN) environments integrate diverse vendor controllers, increasing scalability and flexibility.
• The east-west interface connecting these controllers faces significant security threats in multi-vendor deployments.
• Existing security solutions are insufficient for heterogeneous SDN due to attack specificity, centralization, or homogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel blockchain-based security framework for heterogeneous SDN environments.
• To establish a decentralized, robust, and interoperable security layer for distributed SDN controllers.
• To address security gaps and mitigate threats in multi-vendor SDN inter-controller communication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Ethereum blockchain with customized smart contracts for security functions.
• Implemented mutual authentication, secure data exchange, and access control among distributed controllers.
• Developed a decentralized security layer to protect the east-west interface.

Main Results:

• The framework effectively mitigates Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS), Man-in-the-Middle (MitM), false data injection, and unauthorized access.
• Achieved a stable throughput of approximately 20 transactions per second.
• Demonstrated an average authentication latency of 28-40 ms.

Conclusions:

• The proposed blockchain framework enhances security for inter-controller communication in heterogeneous SDN.
• The solution is practical, scalable, and maintains network performance.
• Offers a reliable approach for securing real-world multi-vendor SDN deployments.