Patent ID: 9577941
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A controller for controlling some of a plurality of switches in an OpenFlow network, the controller comprising: a load control table configured to control at least one of a number of messages which each of the switches in the OpenFlow network has transmitted to a controller controlling the switch over a predetermined time and a number of packets which the switch has received over a predetermined time; and a load control unit configured to, when a predetermined event occurs, detect a controller whose processing load should be distributed, on a basis of the load control table and to place at least one of switches controlled by the detected controller under a control of another controller, wherein the load control table controls information on a number of communication devices through which packets pass by a packet checked within a controller against a predefined threshold between each of the switches in the OpenFlow network and the controller controlling the switch, and wherein the load control unit selects, as the at least one of switches to be placed under the control of the another controller, a switch having a relatively small influence on the processing load and having the number of communication devices through which the packets pass greater than or equal to a threshold.