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OpenFlow

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OpenFlow is a communications protocol that gives access to the forwarding plane of a network switch orrouter 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 multiple routers (minimum two of them - primary and secondary - has a role of observers). This separation of the control from the forwarding allows for more sophisticated traffic management than what is feasible using access control lists (ACL)s and routing protocols. Its inventors consider OpenFlow an enabler of "Software Defined Networking".^[2]

A number of network switch and router vendors have announced their intention to support OpenFlow, includingBrocade Communications^[3],Arista Networks, Cisco, Force10, Extreme Networks, IBM, Juniper Networks, Larch Networks, Hewlett-Packard andNEC.^[4] Some networkcontrol plane implementations use the protocol to manage the network forwarding elements.^[5] OpenFlow is mainly used between the switch and controller on a secure channel.

Version 1.1 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 theOpen Networking Foundation (ONF).^[6] In December 2011, the ONF board approved OpenFlow version 1.2 and published it in February 2012.^[7]

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.

In February of 2012, Big Switch Networks released an open source package for OpenFlow software. The company has released Floodlight, an Apache-licensedopen source OpenFlow Controller.^[8]

In February 2012 HP said it is taking its first leap into OpenFlow-enabled network equipment, supporting the standard on 16 of its Ethernet switch products as it attempts to gain a foothold in a market likely to receive significant attention.^[9]

In April 2012 Google's Urs Hölzle described how the company's internal network had been completely re-designed over the previous two years to run under OpenFlow with substantial efficiency improvement.^[10]

[edit]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. ^Pavel Radda (2011-03-22)."Brocade Leads OpenFlow Adoption to Accelerate Network Virtualization and Cloud Application Development". Reuters.http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/idUS38007+22-Mar-2011+MW20110322. Retrieved 2011-11-29. 
4. ^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. 
5. ^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. 
6. ^"Open Networking Foundation Press Release". 2011-03-2011.http://www.opennetworkingfoundation.org/?p=7. 
7. ^"Open Networking Foundation - OpenFlow v1.2".https://www.opennetworking.org/images/stories/downloads/openflow/openflow-spec-v1.2.pdf. 
8. ^Bernard Cole, EE Times. "Big Switch releases open source controller for OpenFlow." February 2, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
9. ^Network World "[http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/020212-hp-openflow-255641.html?page=1
10. ^Levy, Steven, "Going With the Flow: Google’s Secret Switch to the Next Wave of Networking",Wired, April 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-17.

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