Distributed SDN based network state aware architecture for flying ad-hoc network

Flying networks are resource constraints while the nature of nodes' mobility is very dynamic and unpredicted. Therefore, these networks are very prone to link failure and performance degradation. By considering the existing limitations, this work proposes a new approach consists of proactive and reactive network failure mitigation techniques that have been named as a hybrid approach. In the proposed architecture, the SDN controllers are distributed where each one controls its local domain nodes. The controller node continuously monitors the network state information and proactively adjusts the near-future changes to the topology. Each local domain also contains a sink node that directly connects to the controller. The sink node is used to forward the network state information to the controller and keep the controller defined flow rules for local domain nodes. The sink node can also request a new path in case of any link failure or any topology updates cause by nodes' movement. Besides, a distributed routing protocol also runs on domain nodes to establish connectivity toward the sink node.