OpenFlow

OpenFlow

OpenFlow is a communications protocol that gives access to the forwarding plane of a network switch or router over the network.[1] In simpler terms, OpenFlow allows the path-of-network-packets-through-the-network-of-switches to be determined by software running on a separate server. This separation of the control from the forwarding allows for more sophisticated traffic management than feasible using access control lists (ACL)s and routing protocols. Its inventors consider OpenFlow an enabler of "Software Defined Networking".[2]

OpenFlow has been implemented by a number of network switch and router vendors including Arista Networks, Extreme Networks, IBM, Juniper Networks, Hewlett-Packard, and NEC.[3] Some network control plane implementations use the protocol to manage the network forwarding elements.[4] OpenFlow is mainly used between the switch and controller on secure channel.

Version 1.1.0 of the OpenFlow protocol was released on February 28, 2011 and is still maintained at openflow.org, but new development of the standard was managed by the Open Networking Foundation.[5]

Indiana University in May 2011 launched the SDN Interoperability Lab in conjunction with the Open Networking Foundation to test how well different vendors' Software-Defined Networking and OpenFlow products work together.

References

  1. ^ Nick McKeown et al. (2008-04). "OpenFlow: Enabling innovation in campus networks". ACM Communications Review. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1355734.1355746. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
  2. ^ Kate Greene (March/April 2009). "TR10: Software-Defined Networking". MIT Technology Review. http://www.technologyreview.com/biotech/22120/. Retrieved October 7, 2011. 
  3. ^ Tim Greene (2008-10-29). "Researchers show off advanced network control technology". Network World. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/102908-openflow.html. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
  4. ^ Teemu Koponen et. al (2010-10-04). "Onix: A Distributed Control Platform for Large-scale Production Networks". USENIX OSDI 2010. http://www.usenix.org/events/osdi10/tech/tech.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
  5. ^ "Open Networking Foundation Press Release". 2011-03-2011. http://www.opennetworkingfoundation.org/?p=7. 
Stub icon This computer networking article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.