UNIT-II

IoT and M2M- Software defined networks, network function virtualization, difference
between SDN and NFV for IoT, Basics of IoT System Management with NETCONF, YANG-
NETCONF, YANG, SNMP, NETOPEER

1) Software Defined Networks

It is an approach to network management that decouples control of information flow from the
hardware and gives it to a software controller. Software-Defined Network (SDN) allows for
fewer data to travel wirelessly, making it a strategy for IoT networks services by abstracting
lower-level functionality.

Software defined networking (SDN) is an approach to network management that enables

dynamic, programmatically efficient network configuration to improve network performance
and monitoring. It is a new way of managing computer networks that makes them easier and
more flexible to control.

To discuss the about SDN we need to know the working of data communication in traditional
networks how packets are transmitted in a network from one host to another host machine
using network devices

In traditional networks, the hardware (like routers and switches) decides how data moves
through the network, but SDN changes this by moving the decision-making to a
central software system. This is done by separating the control plane (which decides the
routing and traffic congestion) from the data plane (sending packets to the selected
destination).

SDN Networks

Basics of SDN Controller

SDN Simplifies data communication in the network such as (IOT, Cloud, Computer Networks,
NFV etc)

The router has a Control Plane and a Data Plane

Control Plane does the computational task for routing and data forwarding plane does the
transfer of data packets

SDN simplifies removes the control plane task of the routers

Routing decisions are now taken by the software SDN Controller in the SDN

SDN controller maintain a unified view of the network and make configuration, management
and provisioning simpler.

Architecture of SDN

The 3 layers that make SDN as

Application Layer: It contains the typical network applications like intrusion detection,
firewall, and load balancing.

Control Layer: It consists of the SDN controller which acts as the brain of the network. It
also allows hardware abstraction to the applications written on top of it.

Infrastructure Layer: This consists of physical switches which form the data plane and
carries out the actual movement of data packets.

Benefits or Uses of SDN

 Easier management of the network

  It is Programmable network
 Centralized Management of the networks
 Agility (Fast data Transfer)
 Improved the visibility of the network
 Cost effective Network
 Improves the security of network

Different Models of SDN

There are several models, which are used in SDN:

 Open SDN
 SDN via APIs
 SDN via Hypervisor-based Overlay Network
 Hybrid SDN

2) Network Function Virtualization/Visualization

The term “Network Functions Virtualization” (NFV) refers to the use of virtual machines in
place of physical network appliances.

It is a concept of replacing dedicated network devices such as routers and firewalls with
software running on GPU’s or virtual machines operating on stand servers.

There is a requirement for a hypervisor to operate networking software and procedures like
load balancing and routing by virtual computers.

It provides a infrastructure on which SDN can run.

NFV and SDN are mutually beneficial to each other but both are not dependent on each other

Architecture of NFV

The architecture of NFV majorly consists of 3 components. Such as

 NFV Infrastructure (NFVI)

 Virtualized Network Functions (VNF’s)
 NFV Management and Orchestration
NFV Infrastructure (NFVI)

 The first layer of NFVI consists of hardware resource (CPU), storage resource (Hard
Disk), and Network resources (Routers, Switch and Firewalls).
 The second layer of NFVI is the virtualization layer, which separates hardware and
replaces with software
 The third layer of NFVI is virtualized resources such as virtual computers, virtual
storage, and virtual networks.

Virtualized Network Functions (VNF)

 VNF is a software implementation of a network function.

 VNF is a capable of running over NVFI.
 Examples: vFirewall, vRouter, vStorage

NFV Management and Orchestration

 Virtual Infrastructure Manager – It controls and manages network functions with NVFI
resources and monitors the virtualization layer
 VNF Manager - It manages the life cycle of VNF such as initialization, update, scaling,
terminate etc.
 Orchestrator – It manages the life cycle of network services which includes policy,
management, performance, measurement and monitoring

Benefits of NFV

 Cost savings through network optimization

 Increased agility and flexibility in network management
 Improved scalability and faster time-to-market for new services
 Improved service quality and reliability

3) Difference between SDN and NFV for IoT

Software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) are two
technologies that are transforming the networking industry.

Both SDN and NFV aim to make networks more flexible and efficient, they differ in
their approach and implementation

Primary differences between SDN and NFV is their architecture

SDN NFV
SDN architecture mainly focuses on data NFV is targeted at service providers or
centers operators.
SDN separates the control plane from the NFV virtualizes network functions, allowing
 data plane, allowing for centralized them to be run on standard servers. This
management of the network. This means that means that network functions, such as
the network can be managed and configured firewalls and load balancers, can be deployed
from a central location, rather than having to and scaled more easily.
configure each individual network device
separately

SDN's architecture is well-suited for NFV on the other hand, is most

data center or campus networks, often used in wide-area networks
where centralized control is (WANs), where virtualization can
important help reduce the number of physical
devices required

SDN can provide greater flexibility NFV can help reduce the cost and
and agility in network management complexity of WAN deployments.
Benefits of SDN:Centralized Management, Benefits of NFV: Agile and Flexible
Improved Network Performance and Reduces Networks and Reduces Network Costs
Network Costs
Limitations of SDN: Security Risks, High Limitations of NFV: Management and
Deployment Costs and Complex Management Orchestration and Deployment in Certain
Environments
SDN uses OpenFlow as a communication There is no protocol determined yet for NFV
protocol.

4) Basics of IoT System Management with NETCONF

IoT System Managmenet: IoT system management is the process of managing the lifecycle of
Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors.

It involves the tools, processes, and capabilities needed to support IoT solutions.

Need of IoT System Management includes

 Automatic Configuration
 Monitoring operational and statistical Data
 Improved Reliability
 System Wide Configurations
 Multiple System Configurations
 Retrieving and Reusing configurations

What does IoT system management include

 Onboarding: Adding new devices to the network

 Configuration: Setting up new devices with the required settings
  Monitoring: Keeping an eye on the performance of devices
 Maintenance: Updating software and firmware, applying security patches, and performing
diagnostics
 Security: Ensuring that devices are secure and meet enterprise security policies
 Retirement: Disposing of devices that are no longer needed

NETCONF and YANG provide an effective framework for managing IoT systems.

NETCONF allows retrieving and modifying configuration and state data using XML over SSH.

YANG models the data using a schema

NETCONF

Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) is a standard protocol for managing network

devices.

It allows users to configure, install, and modify network devices.

NETCONF is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) and uses Secure Shell (SSH)
to communicate between clients and servers.

Working

NETCONF uses the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol to carry out communications between clients
and servers.

RPC is a client/server protocol that lets a program request a service from another program without
understanding the details of the underlying network.

RPC messages are encoded in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and transmitted via secure
connection-oriented sessions.

NETCONF is designed to be more modern and robust compared to older protocols like SNMP.

Key Features of NETCONF:

NETCONF uses XML based encoding messages, which makes it flexible and extensible managing
network devices.

Transaction-based: It supports the concept of transactions, ensuring that configurations are applied
atomically, which means either all changes are committed, or none are.

Data Retrieval and Configuration: NETCONF allows for retrieving current device configuration and
applying new configurations.
Security: NETCONF typically operates over SSH (Secure Shell) to ensure secure communication between
devices and management systems.

Operations: NETCONF supports multiple operations like:

<get>: Retrieve configuration data.

<get-config>. Retrieves all configurations information available

<edit-config>: Edit or modify configuration data.

<commit>: Apply configuration changes.

<lock>: Lock the configuration to prevent other changes during editing.

<delete-config>: deletes the configuration information

<unlock>. Releases a lock on a configuration

<close-session>. Requests the NETCONF server to terminate an open session.

The NETCONF protocol facilitates secure RPC communications between the client and server, providing a
standards-based approach to network device management

SNMP

 SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol.

 SNMP is a framework used for managing devices on the internet.
 It provides a set of operations for monitoring and managing the internet.
 SNMP has two components Manager and agent.
  The manager is a host that controls and monitors a set of agents such as routers and switches.
 It is an application layer protocol in which a few manager stations can handle a set of agents.
 The protocol designed at the application level can monitor the devices made by different manufacturers
and installed on different physical networks.
 It is used in a heterogeneous network made of different LANs and WANs connected by routers or
gateways.

SNMP Components

Manager: The system that requests and receives information from the devices on the network.

Agent: The software running on the managed devices that responds to the manager’s requests.

MIB (Management Information Base): A collection of information that is organized hierarchically. The MIB
defines the types of data that can be requested or manipulated on network devices.

SNMP typically uses three versions

SNMPv1: The original version, with basic security features.

SNMPv2: An improved version of SNMPv1 that includes enhancements for performance, but still uses simple
community strings for security.

SNMPv3: The most secure version, with authentication and encryption capabilities for better privacy and data
integrity.

SNMP Client (Agent) and Server (Manager) Communication

SNMP defines five types of messages: GetRequest, GetNextRequest, SetRequest, GetResponse, and Trap.
GetRequest: The GetRequest message is sent from a manager (client) to the agent (server) to retrieve the
value of a variable.

GetNextRequest: The GetNextRequest message is sent from the manager to agent to retrieve the value
of a variable. This type of message is used to retrieve the values of the entries in a table

GetResponse: The GetResponse message is sent from an agent to the manager in response to the
GetRequest and GetNextRequest message. This message contains the value of a variable requested by
the manager.

SetRequest: The SetRequest message is sent from a manager to the agent to set a value in a variable.

Trap: The Trap message is sent from an agent to the manager to report an event. For example, if the
agent is rebooted, then it informs the manager as well as sends the time of rebooting.

YANG

YANG (Yet Another Next Generation) is a data modeling language used in the Internet of Things (IoT)
to define configuration and state data.

YANG is used in conjunction with network configuration management protocols like

NETCONF and RESTCONF(Representational State Transfer Configuration ).

YANG model defines a hierarchical data structure, which can be used for operations based
on network configuration management protocols (such as NETCONF/RESTCONF)
The operations include configuration, status data, remote procedure calls (RPCs), and
notifications.

YANG- NETCONF

NETCONF/YANG provides a standardized way to programmatically update and modify

the configuration of network devices

To break this down futherly. YANG is the modeling language that to define the
structure and semantics of data for network configuration and management..

Whereas NETCONF is the protocol that applies the changes to the relevant datastore (i.e
running, saved etc) upon the device.

NETOPEER
 Netopeer is a set of open-source tools that allow users to manage Internet of Things (IoT)
devices using the NETCONF protocol

It's built on the libnetconf library

Netopeer working
 Netopeer-server
The main server that controls a device. It has a core and device control modules.
 Netopeer-cli
A command line interface (CLI) that allows users to connect to a device and manipulate
its configuration data.
 Netopeer-agent
A NETCONF protocol agent that accepts incoming connections and passes them to the
netopeer-server. It also checks the integrity of the request message.
Netopeer-manager
A tool that allows users to manage YANG and transaction modules on the server.
 Netopeer-configurator
A tool that allows users to configure the netopeer-server.

How Netopeer is used

 Users can use Netopeer to connect to NETCONF-enabled devices.

 Developers can use Netopeer to control devices without needing to know the NETCONF
protocol.
 Users can use Netopeer to configure IoT devices, retrieve state information, and execute
RPCs.