Abstract
High-performance scientific work flows utilize supercomputers, scientific instruments, and large storage systems. Their executions require fast setup of a small number of dedicated network connections across the geographically distributed facility sites. We present Soware-Dened Network (SDN) solutions consisting of site daemons that use dpctl, Floodlight, ONOS, or OpenDaylight controllers to set up these connections. e development of these SDN solutions could be quite disruptive to the infrastructure, while requiring a close coordination among multiple sites; in addition, the large number of possible controller and device combinations to investigate could make the infrastructure unavailable to regular users for extended periods of time. In response, we develop a Virtual Science Network Environment (VSNE) using virtual machines, Mininet, and custom scripts that support the development, testing, and evaluation of SDN solutions, without the constraints and expenses of multi-site physical infrastructures; furthermore, the chosen solutions can be directly transferred to production deployments. By complementing VSNE with a physical testbed, we conduct targeted performance tests of various SDN solutions to help choose the best candidates. In addition, we propose a switching response method to assess the setup times and throughput performances of different SDN solutions, and present experimental results that show their advantages and limitations.
