Packet Loss Prevention in Queues using SDN

Packets are transferred between nodes within a network. However, a packet can be dropped while trying to join the queue of a node it was routed to. In networking, this is referred to as packet loss. It can be caused by buffer scarcity in a congested network. Such phenomenon results in a reduced data rate and a delay increase due to packet retransmissions.

In this work, we propose an algorithm to perform load balancing on a network of queues via SDN to prevent packet loss. It implements a parameter K, based on the queues occupancy and traffic flow, to control an iterative packet redistribution process. In different experiments conducted on network models in which the queues varied in number, size and occupancy, our algorithm outperformed a load balancer using the Round-Robin technique.