Interactive Visualization of SDN-Enabled Multisite Cloud Playgrounds Leveraging SmartX MultiView Visibility Framework

Abstract The ICT infrastructure transformations for integrating cloud, software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) are emerging extensively to satisfy dynamic user requirements on diversified functionalities over large-scale resource pools. These infrastructure transformations are causing new sets of operational problems for operators, as a consequence of inadequate end-to-end visibility and visualization support about underlay infrastructure. Particularly, for multi-tenant/multisite underlay infrastructure, resource monitoring and associated flow identification are major challenges. To address these operational challenges, precise visibility monitoring and interactive visualizations are essential. Therefore, in this paper, by realizing an interactive visualization of multi-layer (i.e. resource-layer and flow-layer) visibility, we address the real-world operational issues of experimental SDN-enabled distributed clouds, denoted as OF@TEIN and OF@KOREN Playgrounds. By leveraging ‘SmartX MultiView Visibility Framework’, we first strive to enable visibility collection and validation. We then link it with subsequent visibility integration capability empowered by DataLake-based visibility storage. Additionally, by taking the example of OF@TEIN and OF@KOREN Playgrounds, we present verification results on prototype implementations. The results justify the proposed approach for timely unveiling critical operational issues by efficaciously leveraging the multi-layer visibility.