Solution

As the Internet-of-Things (IoT) era comes, the needs of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication greatly arises accordingly. New IoT applications are expected to be developed based on such M2M networks. New technologies such as Big Data analysis and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also expected to drive these applications into next stages with the power of data science. As an important IoT system infrastructure, abundant M2M connectivity could generate new impacts to the networking system, such as:

To fulfill the aforementioned requirements in the IoT worlds, EstiNet provides the Network Solution based on the Software Defined Network (SDN) technology to simplify the management process of IoT networks. The core of the Network Solution is the EstiNet SDN Network Controller, which is responsible for controlling EstiNet Edge switch and EstiNet IoT Access Point (AP), to provide a commercial-grade, highly-reliable IoT Network platform. Over our Network platform, network administrators can control and manage network devices in a policy-based manner. Compared with traditional networks, which usually requires network administrators to set up devices one-by-one, EstiNet’s Network platform allows them to set up the network with fewest policy-making steps for automatic network operation. In addition, based on real-time needs of IoT devices, EstiNet Network platform is capable of dynamically adjusting network resource assignment in real time. This provides high-quality, reliable, and extensible networking systems for large-scale IoT networks, which demands efficient ways to network management and dynamic resource adjustment. As depicted in the following figures, EstiNet develops the management core of the network platform using SDN technology. This SDN management architecture can be applied several usage scenarios, including smart city, wireless service for residential areas, smart campus and enterprise network security. Using SDN technology to manage edge switches and APs brings more secure and reliable network than tranditional network management solution.

The SDN Controller is the core of the network management and provides the unified one-portal interface for wired and wireless network management. The SDN controller also has built-in virtual Radius and DHCP servers to provide user authentication and auto IP address assignment. The network admin can customize the network access polices for individuals. Based on the auto topology detection and host attached port detection, the SDN controller is able to apply the network management policies to edge switches dynamically. Traditionally, the network admin has to configure the network management policies to each switch manually. With the SDN controller, the network management policies can be configured globally but applied to specific switches only when the target host is detected online. Such SDN management technology relies on OpenFlow and SNMP protocol for switch management. As a result, the SDN controller is able to dynamically apply edge protection, dynamic bandwidth management and VLAN management to edge switches. The new SDN network management concept can reduce the cost and effort for network management, and also provide a more efficient way to manage IoT networks.