Network traffic optimisation is difficult as the load is by nature dynamic and seemingly unpredictable. However, the increased usage of file transfer services may help the detection of future loads and the prediction of their expected duration. The NOTED project seeks to do exactly this and to dynamically adapt network topology to deliver improved bandwidth for users of such services. This article introduces, and explains the features of, the two main components of NOTED, the Transfer Broker and the Network Intelligence component. The Transfer Broker analyses all queued and on-going FTS transfers, producing a traffic report which can be used by network controllers. Based on this report and its knowledge of the network topology and routing, the Network Intelligence (NI) component makes decisions as to when a network reconfiguration could be beneficial. Any Software Defined Network controller can then apply these decision to the network, so optimising transfer execution time and reducing operating costs.

Network utilisation efficiency can, at least in principle, often be improved by dynamically re-configuring routing policies to better distribute ongoing large data transfers. Unfortunately, the information necessary to decide on an appropriate reconfiguration—details of on-going and upcoming data transfers such as their source and destination and, most importantly, their volume and duration—is usually lacking. Fortunately, the increased use of scheduled transfer services, such as FTS, makes it possible to collect the necessary information. However, the mere detection and characterisation of larger transfers is not sufficient to predict with confidence the likelihood a network link will become overloaded. In this paper we present the use of LSTM-based models (CNN-LSTM and Conv-LSTM) to effiectively estimate future network traffic and so provide a solid basis for formulating a sensible network configuration plan.