ContentSDN: A Content-Based Transparent Proxy Architecture in Software-Defined Networking

In recent years, there has been a trend towards changing the Internet paradigm from location-based to content-based. Based on the principle that networks should allow users to focus on data, rather than having a reference to a physical location where that data is, the adoption of new paradigms can be justified. Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a new paradigm that gives a potential improvement to content distribution, such as local content caching, which helps to reduce delay and increase delivery speed. From another point of view, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) defines a new Internet architecture where network devices are simple and the control plane is managed by a centralized controller, providing an inexpensive and reliable architecture. This paper presents ContentSDN, an architecture that integrates ICN and SDN, providing transparent in-network caching for content delivery. ContentSDN uses the concept of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), allowing network orchestration and high scalability at runtime. Content caching is driven by manageable policies that can be adjusted according to business needs. The proposed architecture has been evaluated on an emulated environment where multiple users request content through the HTTP protocol. Results show that ContentSDN improves the Quality of Experience and make a more efficient use of network resources.