Toward software-defined battlefield networking

Abstract

Battlefield networking (BN) considers each network entity as a network in itself, composed of several communication technologies usually interconnected by multiple satellites. In this context, we must consider the intrinsic properties of military contexts to apply SDN in BN to get more flexibility and programmability in network-centric operations. For instance, BN considers several communication technologies, as well as the distinct application requirements on the traffic transmitted over BN in terms of QoS and security features in dynamic environments, where flexible network-centric operations are mandatory. In this article, we define an SDBN architecture that adapts SDN technology to BN, enabling SDNbased applications, methods, and policies. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed architecture in this article is the first one aimed at integrating BN and SDN into dynamic and heterogeneous network-centric environments.