On Polynomial-Time Congestion-Free Software-Defined Network Updates

We consider the SDN network update problem in which a controller wants to update the routes of k (unsplittable) flows from their old paths to the new paths, consistently, i.e., without temporary congestion. As updates communicated by the controller take effect asynchronously, the challenge is to perform these updates fast, i.e., using a minimal number of rounds (controller interactions). We present the first fast, i.e., polynomial-time solution for scheduling such congestion-free network updates, for two flows and in the node ordering model. We also show that the problem is already NP-hard for six flows. We complement our formal results with simulations.