Performance Analysis of Caraga State University’s Network Infrastructure: A Software-defined Networking Approach

This research probes into the innovative potential of software-defined networking (SDN) as a transformative tool for enriching the network infrastructure at Caraga State University. It delves into the intricacies of traditional networking systems which, despite their reliability, still possess limitations. SDN, with its inherent advantages such as improved load balancing, routing, and quality of service, could provide a solution to these shortcomings and elevate overall network performance. This study’s primary objective is to assess the existing network infrastructure at Caraga State University, encompassing both the Administration and Financial Automation and Resource Management Building facilities. Key metrics like latency, packet loss, throughput, constant bitrate (CBR), and roundtrip times (RTT) were considered for the current network, which demonstrates an average RTT ranging from 7.17 ms to 124.94ms, a throughput of 335Mbps, and an average jitter of 2.892 ms and 1.507 ms for $\mathbf{G} .711$ and G. 729 codecs respectively. The simulated performance of the proposed SDN network yielded notable improvements. Average RTTs were reduced to $3.974 \mathrm{~ms}-4.493 \mathrm{~ms}$, throughput escalated to $\mathbf{6 2 6 M b p s}$, and jitter decreased to 0.76 ms and $\mathbf{0. 4 6 7 m s}$ for G. 711 and G. 729 codecs respectively. This translates to a $44 \%$ increase in throughput and a remarkable $\mathbf{7 4 \%}$ decrease in jitter. These compelling findings suggest that SDN implementation could significantly enhance network performance, setting the stage for Caraga State University’s transformation into a smart campus.