Multi Layer Routing in SDN-enabled Fog Environments

Compared to Cloud computing, Fog computing is proving to support challenging scenarios imposing stricter delay requirements, e.g., tactile Internet and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and demanding increased flexibility, e.g., dynamic Smart Cities and users' follow-me provisioning cases. However, such scenarios are characterized by increased heterogeneity of nodes in terms of hardware/software characteristics, of time-varying services/applications possibly offered by multiple service providers, and frequent joining/leaving of nodes. The paper originally proposes Multi-Layer Advanced Networking Environment (Multi-LANE), a Multi-Layer Routing (MLR) solution based on Software Defined Networking (SDN). Multi-LANE dynamically selects and exploits routing strategies and mechanisms suitable for applications with heterogeneous capabilities and requirements. Based on application requirements and its centralized point of view, our SDN controller determines the most suitable path and configures the proper MLR forwarding mechanism, ranging from traditional IP and sequence-based overlay to more articulated ones based on payload content type and value inspection.