Dynamic Controller Placement in Software Defined Drone Networks

Controller placement is one of the most important aspects in Software Defined Networking (SDN) as it is critical in determining the performance of the network. While SDN is mainly applied in wired networks, we attempt to utilize it in a futuristic drone-based network architecture to capitalize on the programmability and flexibility offered by SDN. Such drone network comprises a multi-hop network of drones as the nodes of the network which also act as programmable network nodes and forwarding elements. In such a dynamic and mobile network, maintaining SDN controller connectivity becomes a challenge, especially when the drone network requires operating independently from a ground infrastructure for some deployment scenarios. In this work, we attempt to address this challenge by implementing a dynamic scheme for controller placement that deploys a minimum number of drones that operate as SDN controllers and adjust their locations dynamically as the controlled nodes adjust their locations to meet changing mission requirements.