Edge Controller Placement for Next Generation Wireless Sensor Networks

Nowadays, Fog architecture or Edge architecture is becoming a popular research trend to distribute a substantial amount of computing resources, data processing and resource management at the extreme edge of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Industrial communication is a research track in next generation wireless sensor networks for the fourth revolution in the industrial process. Adopting fog architecture into Industrial communication systems is a promising technology within sensor networks architecture. With Software Defined Network (SDN) architecture, in this paper, we address edge controller placement as an optimization problem with the objective of more robustness while minimizing the delay of network management and the associated synchronization overhead. The optimization problem is provided and modelled as submodular function. Two algorithms are provided to find the optimal solution using a real wireless network to get more realistic results. Greedy Algorithm and Connectivity Ranking Algorithm are provided. Greedy algorithm outperforms connectivity ranking algorithm to find the optimum balance between the different metrics. Also, based on the network operator preference, the number of edge controllers to be placed will be provided. This research paper plays a great role in standardization of softwarization into Industrial communication systems for next generation wireless sensor networks.