An Effective Path Load Balancing Mechanism Based on SDN

Path load balancing is used for distributing workload across an array of paths to increase network reliability and optimize link utilization. However, it is not easy to realize the load balancing globally in traditional networks as the whole status of the network is difficult to obtain. To address this problem, we propose the Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Mechanism (FSEM), a path load balancing solution based on Software Defined Networking (SDN). In this mechanism, the network traffic is allocated to the paths operated by Open Flow switches, where the flow-handling rules are installed by the central SDN controller. The paths can be dynamically adjusted with the aid of FSEM according to the global view of the network. Experimental results verify that the proposed solution can effectively balance the traffic and avoid unexpected breakdown caused by link failure. The overall network performance is also improved as well.