Poster: VALI - An SDN-based Management Framework for Public Wireless LANs

Usage of WiFi is becoming increasingly popular in public wireless LAN (WLAN) settings like malls, airports and train stations. Similarly to other prominent examples of WiFi usage like enterprise and home settings, public WLANs could also benefit from an SDN-based coordinated management framework that deals with issues like interference and mobility management. However, unlike these settings, public WLANs present a few differences in their characteristics, such as the need to offer location-aware services and dynamic categorization of users, and the consequent need to provide sophisticated association strategies. Motivated by this we propose VALI, an SDN management framework tailored to meet the needs of public WLAN settings. We give an overview of VALI and present initial results obtained using our prototype implementation deployed over a testbed that resembles a realistic public WLAN environment. Our results demonstrate that VALI is a promising solution that could be used to effectively manage public WLAN settings and enable location-aware WiFi access.