A novel method for utilizing RF information from IEEE 802.11 frames in Software Defined Networks

Abstract

Wireless security research using Radio Frequency (RF) data is complex and costly, often requiring expensive equipment and extensive offline processing. To make wireless research more accessible, we have integrated RF signal features with the existing IEEE 802.11 frame layer 2/3 data using the Software Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm. Combining low-cost RF hardware, a novel SDN processing method, and unique RF processing architecture has resulted in a framework that enables advanced wireless security and control research at a significantly lower cost. The method for enabling such functionality consist of the following stages:•During the demodulation process, extract Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) and Pilot Sub-Carrier Offset from the Frequency Offset Correction section, in addition to the Vector Magnitude from the equalization section.•Append the new RF information to the wireless frame buffer and pass it to the SDR kernel driver module to further process before transferring them to a P4 application via a single API instantiation.•Compile a custom P4 application that combines the new RF features alongside higher OSI layer features to perform advanced networking, security, or control plane operations.