Orchestrating Intelligent Network Operations in Programmable Networks

Our communication networks have grown in size and have witnessed an influx of heterogeneous devices and their specialized device controllers. These devices include traditional computers, light-weight Internet-of- Things devices and their con-trollers, and also programmable switches and routers. Managing and protecting networks used by these devices is non-trivial, especially since the devices either use different standards or no standards at all for control and management. In this article, we discuss PraNA, an SDN-based architecture for managing and orchestrating such heterogeneous networks. At the heart of PraNA is the PraNA Orchestrator which offers a comprehensive network-wide view of the devices by using the services of a wide range of specialized controllers.