SDxCentral
Join Log In
SD-WAN 5G Edge 1 IoT SDN NFV Containers Cloud Security AI Data Center Storage APM/NPM Open Source

Log In to SDxCentral

Log in with your email? Forgot your password?
  • Newsletters
  • eBriefs
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Videos
  • Directory
  • White Papers
  • Resources
  • Use Cases
  • Support

Join SDxCentral and get information tailored to your particular interests everyday.

Join
Sponsored:
Dell EMC Citrix Riverbed

Networking > SDN > SDN Definitions > What is OpenFlow? Definition and How it Relates to SDN

What is OpenFlow? Definition and How it Relates to SDN

OpenFlow (OF) is considered one of the first software-defined networking (SDN) standards. It originally defined the communication protocol in SDN environments that enables the SDN Controller to directly interact with the forwarding plane of network devices such as switches and routers, both physical and virtual (hypervisor-based), so it can better adapt to changing business requirements.

An SDN Controller in SDN is the “brains” of the SDN network, relaying information to  switches/routers ‘below’ (via southbound APIs) and the applications and business logic ‘above’ (via northbound APIs). Recently, as organizations deploy more SDN networks, SDN Controllers have been tasked with federating between SDN Controller domains, using common application interfaces, like OpenFlow and open virtual switch database (OVSDB).

To work in an OF environment, any device that wants to communicate to an SDN Controller must support the OpenFlow protocol. Through this interface, the SDN Controller pushes down changes to the switch/router flow-table allowing network administrators to partition traffic, control flows for optimal performance, and start testing new configurations and applications.

Flow-Table Entries That Can Be Manipulated in an OF Switch

Table Entries that can be Manipulated in an OpenFlow Switch

Benefits of OpenFlow:

Programmability

  • Enable innovation/differentiation
  • Accelerate new features and services introduction

Centralized Intelligence

  • Simplify provisioning
  • Optimize performance
  • Granular policy management

Abstraction

  • Decoupling of Hardware & Software, Control plane & forwarding, and Physical & logical config.

Protocol History

The original concept for OF begun at Stanford University in 2008. By December 2009, Version 1.0 of the OpenFlow switch specification was released. Since its inception, OpenFlow has been managed by the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), a user-led organization dedicated to open standards and SDN adoption.

Since its release, multiple companies and open source projects like the OpenDaylight Project support OpenFlow, and even provide OpenDaylight Controllers. Other companies like Cisco and Brocade also offer OF-enabled controllers, with Cisco XNC and Brocade Vyatta Controller.

Related Definitions

What is Open vSwitch (OVS)?What is an OpenDaylight Controller? AKA: OpenDaylight PlatformSDN Controller Comparison Pt. 2: Open Source SDN ControllersWhat are SDN Northbound APIs (and SDN Rest APIs)?What are SDN Southbound APIs?Who is the Open Networking Foundation (ONF)? The steward of OpenFlow.
SDxCentral Daily News

Join your Peers! Subscribe to SDxCentral's Newsletter

Subscribe to Get the Daily News!

Related Definitions

  • What is Intent-Based Networking?
  • What is Software Defined Networking (SDN)? Definition
  • What Is an Operations Support System (OSS)? Definition
  • What is a Spine Switch?
  • What are Leaf Switches?
  • What is Software Defined Compute? - Definition
  • What is the Software Driven Cloud Networking?
  • What is SDN Orchestration (SDN Policy Orchestration)?
  • Understanding the SDN Architecture - SDN Control Plane & SDN Data Plane
  • Software-Defined Networking Tutorial - The Basics
  • What Is Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (or Cisco ACI or Cisco SDN)? Part 1
  • What is the OpenDaylight Project (ODL)?
  • What are SDN Northbound APIs (and SDN Rest APIs)?
  • What are SDN Southbound APIs?
  • What are SDN Controllers (or SDN Controllers Platforms)?

About SDxCentral

  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us
  • Editorial Team
  • Careers
  • Legal
  • Support

Engage With us

This material may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose except with express written permission from an authorized representative of SDxCentral, LLC. In addition to such written permission to copy, reproduce, or modify this document in whole or part, an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced. All Rights Reserved.

© 2012-2019 SDxCentral, LLC, All Rights Reserved. SDNCentral™, the SDNCentral logo, SDxCentral™, SDxCentral logo, SDxNews™, SDxTech™, SDx™, the SDx logo, and DemoFriday™ are trademarks of SDxCentral, LLC in the U.S. and other countries.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy