Managing home routers from the cloud using Software Defined Networking

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is increasingly being applied to the management and orchestration of data center networks, wide-area networks, and enterprise networks. In this work we demonstrate the benefits of cloud-based SDN management of home routers. We install open-source firmware (OpenWRT and OpenVSiwtch) on off-the-shelf gateways, and deliver new services to consumers via our software in the cloud. Our service allows users to see their household devices and respective bandwidth usage in real-time, impose a download quota on a per-device basis, and impose time-based parental controls on specific household devices. By removing control from the home gateway to the cloud, we show that new services can be delivered rapidly via easy-to-use interfaces suitable for technically unsophisticated users