Security considerations for equipment controllers and SDN

The role of the equipment controller is changing in the Software-Defined Network (SDN). In the past, the role of the controller was focused on providing alarms and status information. In the Software-Defined Network, the controller provides the alarming and status with real-time information about the available capacity and historical information about energy use. With the larger role of equipment controllers and the reality of security threats, it is important to leverage defense-in-depth, protocol security, and a reduction in the controller's attack surface to keep the SDN secure and operating properly. This paper examines these aspects of controller security in an SDN environment.