The Overview of SDN Architecture and its Practical Application with Improving Methods

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on Software Defined Network (SDN) based on these following main aspects: i) an overview of the SDN architecture, ii) the introduction of a practical SDN application, iii) characteristics and drawbacks of SDN, and iv) methods for improving the performance of SDN. By reviewing and researching the rise and development of SDN, it is proposed that SDN solves many issues of traditional distributed networks, including configuration and management difficulties due to network node diversity. However, it still has some limitations, such as decentralize tendency and code opacity caused by competition among vendors. The goal of SDN development is to put SDN in the details of real issues, to improve it from different aspects, and thus make it as a better network.