How to Build an SDN Lab without Needing OpenFlow Hardware
How do you build a networking lab without networking equipment? Yet another plus in the column of open software driven networks. Proofing and prototyping networks today are often done with things like NETFPGA or expensive vendor manufactured hardware. Since we are beginning to build primitives, APIs and abstraction layers the value of what the software development community has had for …
Configuring an OpenFlow POX SDN Controller and HP Switches
There is an updated post with the newest HP OpenFlow firmware that can be found at: Configuring an OpenFlow POX SDN Controller and HP Switches: HP has been supporting OpenFlow v1.0 with general availability longer than anyone in the industry. While there are limitations, just as most vendors will have as we start exploring exposing and/or decoupling control planes. Installing the …
SDN APIs- I Think I Have Seen This Movie Before
To see the future of SDN and arguably the future of networks, the roadmap is in our rear-view mirror. Like with most things the past holds the clues to the future and computing cycles fit that mold well. The Northbound API is starting to get some attention as there has been recent milestones in announcements regarding SDN support. There have …
SDN Floodlight Controller GUI Topology Video and Install
SDN Floodlight Controller GUI Topology Video and Install: There is a new topology component to the OpenFlow Controller FloodLight. The page is located in the GUI Web UI under the “Topology” menu and the balls on the screen represent hosts. I haven’t checked the listserv to see where they are going with it but it’s all in the right direction …
New IETF SDN Drafts
New IETF SDN Drafts: A Service Provider SDN IETF Draft: There are four new drafts submitted to the IETF in the past few days. These are all informational drafts and a “work in progress” for the 6 month period after submission. It would be reasonable to expect vendors to seek some disruption to be triggered by having multiple standards bodies get involved …
TCAMs, SDN/OpenFlow and Why We Care
I recently meet Roy Chua and Matt Palmer over at SDN Central a few weeks ago. They have put together a really nice site dedicated to Software Defined Networks (SDN) and contributing to the community. They are really seasoned IT pros that have great vision. I posted a little bit of a refresher for some, or a primer for others regarding …
Configuring VXLAN and GRE Tunnels on OpenvSwitch
I have done a couple of GRE tunnel how-tos using OpenvSwitch (OVS). I had been itching to give VXLan a spin in OVS so why not ferret out someones tree on GitHub. I believe VXLan is still scheduled to officially release soon in OpenvSwitch. So here are the steps for installing, configuring tunnels on OpenvSwitch with VXLan and GRE encapsulations. …
The Birth of an SDN Unicorn – Early OpenFlow Meeting Notes
The Birth of an SDN Unicorn – Early OpenFlow Meeting Notes: I wanted to share something I found very fun to read. These are the OpenFlow notes from the working group meetings at Stanford from 2010. The conversations are fascinating and the notes read like a book. While fun to read, I think it’s important to see what goes on …
