An SDN-based energy-aware traffic management mechanism

Green computing is a central theme in many computer science areas, including computer networks. Dynamic solutions that can properly adjust network resources can prevent infrastructure over-provision and mitigate power consumption during low-demand periods. In this work, we propose DTM (Dynamic mechanism for Traffic Management), an energy-aware dynamic mechanism for traffic management, built upon the SDN paradigm. DTM continuously monitors the use of network links to concentrate traffic and disconnect idle equipment without degrading the offered quality of service. Our simulations show that the mechanism can save up to 46% of energy, on average, in the links’ capacities of homogeneous and heterogeneous scenarios. In scenarios with average to high traffic demands, the mean energy savings are 36.72% and 17.86%, respectively. Compared to a well-known existing mechanism, our approach is up to 7% better for medium-demand scenarios, and approximately 4% better for high-demand scenarios.