Efficient Packet Traceback in Software-Defined Networks

Abstract

This paper presents an efficient method for performing packet traceback in software-defined networks. While previous work explores tracing packets forward from their point of entry, the problem of packet traceback is to determine, given a packet that has arrived at a switch in the network, all possible paths it could have taken to get there from its point of ingress. Packet traceback is useful for network debugging, monitoring performance, tracing attacks, and so on; multiple autonomous systems may also collaborate to enable packet tracebacks across domains. Given a network policy consisting of a function that defines how packets are handled at each switch, we compute a back policy that we use to reconstruct any packet’s possible paths through the network. This traceback is performed entirely by the controller without incurring any overhead on the data plane, and no additional flow rules need to be installed at the switch level.