Global Journal of Multidisciplinary and Applied Sciences

Software-Defined Networking for Scalable Cloud Infrastructure

Ahmed Raza

Department of Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.

Keywords: Software-Defined Networking, Cloud Infrastructure, Scalability, Network Virtualization, Data Plane

Abstract

 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) has emerged as a transformative approach for managing scalable cloud infrastructures by decoupling the control and data planes, thereby enabling programmability, flexibility, and automation in network operations. As cloud data centers expand rapidly, traditional networking architectures struggle to meet the dynamic requirements of scalability, agility, and resource optimization. SDN facilitates centralized control and dynamic network configuration, allowing service providers to manage virtual networks efficiently. The integration of SDN with cloud computing improves bandwidth utilization, enhances Quality of Service (QoS), and supports multi-tenant environments. This paper explores SDN’s architecture, scalability benefits, and implementation challenges in cloud infrastructures, highlighting its role in optimizing large-scale network performance.