Topology Detection as a Base for Efficient Management of Heterogeneous Industrial Network Systems Using Software-Defined Networking

Network connectivity in the current industrial sector is becoming more and more complex with the widespread adoption of diverse technologies to fulfill technical requirements. A complete overview of the network is not readily available and often not up-to-date due to the complex topology and heterogeneity in multi-vendor networks. Constraints like these make the management of devices in such networks difficult and troublesome. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an emerging network paradigm which decouples the control and data plane and provides a centralized logical controller for management of network operation by introducing the ability to program the network. However, the inclusion of all the information still remains a burden due to the heterogeneous nature of the network. This paper analyzes existing methods in order to obtain actual and detailed topology information of the network system and also analyzes the potential of SDN for legacy devices.