Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this section, you should be able to

  1. describe network control plane in SDN.
  2. explain how routing is done in SDN.
  3. explain key characteristics of an SDN architecture.

Learning Tasks

Required:

  1. Watch the slideshow for this section.
  2. Study Section 5.5, The SDN Control Plane, in the textbook.

Terms and Topics

Section 5 – The SDN Control Plane

SDN architecture
Flow-based forwarding
Separation of data plane and control plane
Characteristics of SDN architecture
SDN control plane

SDN controller
SDN network-control applications
OpenFlow protocol
The OpenDaylight controller
The ONOS controller

Leading Questions

  1. What is a software-defined network (SDN)?
  2. What benefits does SDN offer?