OpenFlow Reference Release <http://openflowswitch.org> What is OpenFlow? ----------------- OpenFlow is a flow-based switch specification designed to enable researchers to run experiments in live networks. OpenFlow is based on a simple Ethernet flow switch that exposes a standardized interface for adding and removing flow entries. An OpenFlow switch consists of three parts: (1) "Flow tables" in which each flow entry is associated with an action telling the switch how to process the flow, (2) a "secure channel" connecting the switch to a remote process (a controller), allowing commands and packets to be sent between the controller and the switch, and (3) an OpenFlow protocol implementation, providing an open and standard way for a controller to talk to the switch. An OpenFlow switch can thus serve as a simple datapath element that forwards packets between ports according to flow actions defined by the controller using OpenFlow commands. Example actions are: - Forward this flow's packets to the given port(s) - Drop this flow's packets - Encapsulate and forward this flow's packets to the controller. The OpenFlow switch is defined in detail in the OpenFlow switch Specification [2]. What's here? ------------ This distribution includes one reference implementations of an OpenFlow switch. This implementation has the following components: - ofdatapath, which implements the flow table in user space. - ofprotocol, a program that implements the secure channel component of the reference switch. - dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch. This distribution includes some additional software as well: - vlogconf, a utility that can adjust the logging levels of a running ofprotocol or controller. - ofp-pki, a utility for creating and managing the public-key infrastructure for OpenFlow switches. For installation instructions, read INSTALL. Each userspace program is also accompanied by a manpage. What's NOT here? ---------------- The reference implementation no longer includes the Linux kernel module or the NetFPGA implementation. The OpenFlow consortium intends to release these separately from the reference design. Platform support ---------------- Other than the userspace switch implementation, the software in the OpenFlow distribution should compile under Unix-like environments such as Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris. Our primary test environment is Debian GNU/Linux. Please contact us with portability-related bug reports or patches. The userspace datapath implementation should be easy to port to Unix-like systems. The interface to network devices, in netdev.c, is the code most likely to need changes. So far, only Linux is supported. We welcome ports to other platforms. GCC is the expected compiler. Bugs/Shortcomings ----------------- - The flow table does not support the "normal processing" action. References ---------- [1] OpenFlow: Enabling Innovation in College Networks. Whitepaper. <http://openflowswitch.org/documents/openflow-wp-latest.pdf> [2] OpenFlow Switch Specification. <http://openflowswitch.org/documents/openflow-spec-latest.pdf> Contact ------- Public discussion list: openflow-discuss@openflowswitch.org Direct e-mail: info@openflowswitch.org Web: http://openflowswitch.org/