GATE-BC: Genetic Algorithm-Powered QoS-Aware Cross-Network Traffic Engineering in Blockchain- Enabled SDN
Murat Karakuş
Abstract
As a result of the ubiquitous network applications and services, exacerbated by the overarching digital revolution the need and demand for efficient and dependable connectivity solutions have surged to unprecedented levels. Quality of Service (QoS)-based routing has emerged as a critical solution, enabling service differentiation, efficient resource allocation, and improved network performance. In this study, we introduce a novel Genetic Algorithm-powered QoS-aware Cross-Network Traffic Engineering framework, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> , at the confluence of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Blockchain (BC) technologies. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> orchestrates end-to-end (E2E) QoS traffic, providing resource-efficient, reliable, and latency-tolerant delivery of intelligent network services in BC-enabled SDNs. Leveraging BC features such as decentralization, transparency, and immutability, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> eliminates the need for centralized entities in QoS-supported cross-network routing models. We compare <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> framework with three other traffic management and engineering approaches: QoSChain ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">QC</i> ), Hierarchical Routing Approach ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">HRA</i> ), and Distributed Routing Approach ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DRA</i> ). The extensive simulations reveal that <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> outperforms the other routing strategies in terms of Path Setup Time (PST), Network Message Overhead (NMO), Request Acceptance Ratio (RAR), Network Bandwidth Consumption (NBC), Average Path Length (APL), and Average Network Length (ANL) metrics under various network topologies. Furthermore, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC</i> employs three different feasible path selection strategies based on bandwidth ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC_BW</i> ), delay ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC_D</i> ), and reliability ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">GATE-BC_R</i> ) QoS parameters to satisfy the service levels requested.