Rethinking IXPs’ Architecture in the Age of SDN

Abstract

Software-defined Internet eXchange points (SDXs) are a promising solution to the long-standing limitations and problems of interdomain routing. While the proposed SDX architectures have improved the scalability of the control plane, these solutions have ignored the underlying fabric upon which they should be deployed. In this paper, we present Umbrella, a software-defined interconnection fabric that complements and enhances those architectures. Umbrella is a switching fabric architecture and management approach that improves the overall robustness, limiting control plane dependence, and suitable for the topology of any existing Internet eXchange Point (IXP). We validate Umbrella through a real-world deployment on two production IXPs, TouSIX and NSPIXP-3, and demonstrate its use in practice, sharing our experience of the challenges faced.