Software-Defined Networking: Evolution or Revolution?
1. Software-Defined Networking:
Evolution or Revolution?
Diego Kreutz
kreutz@lasige.di.fc.ul.pt
LASIGE - Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory
FCUL - Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon
2. 2!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Roadmap
1. On the way to SDN
2. Software-Defined Networking
• Concepts
• How does it work?
• SDN in layers: a first attempt
3. Evolution & Revolution
• Evolving technologies and ideas
• A revolution: reshaping the networks history
• Challenges & Expectations
3. 3!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Roadmap
1. On the way to SDN
2. Software-Defined Networking
• Concepts
• How does it work?
• SDN in layers: a first attempt
3. Evolution & Revolution
• Evolving technologies and ideas
• A revolution: reshaping the networks history
• Challenges & Expectations
4. 4!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
On the way to SDN
(currently: tied data/control plane)
Data Plane!
Control Plane!
Management Plane!
Integrated
(hardware &
software) and
complex control
planes. Proprietary,
expensive and hard
to evolve solutions.
Innovation is very
slow and costly.
Complicated and
hard to integrated
management
solutions.
5. 5!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
On the way to SDN
(challenges of current networks)
Ø Networks are mostly manual-driven
• Changes are slow and usually painful
Ø Technology is expensive
• Time to market is too long
• Almost no vendor independency
Ø Complexity is huge and everywhere:
• Evolution complexity
• Integration complexity
• Management complexity
Ø Resources are not used in an efficient way
6. 6!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
On the way to SDN
(decoupled data and control plane)
Data Plane!
Control Plane!
Management Plane!
Integrated
(hardware &
software) and
complex control
planes. Proprietary,
expensive and hard
to evolve solutions.
Innovation is very
slow and costly.
Simple and easy to
develop apps. A
load balancing
mechanism in only
500 lines of code?
7. 7!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
On the way to SDN
(current networks & SDN)
Data Plane!
Control Plane!
Management Plane!
Data Plane!
Control Plane!
Management Plane!
Current Networks! Software-Defined Networks!
Flexibility and
high level
programmability.
Abstraction
layer (e.g. OS
like interfaces)
Programmability,
openness and
standard interfaces.
8. 8!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Roadmap
1. On the way to SDN
2. Software-Defined Networking
• Concepts
• How does it work?
• SDN in layers: a first attempt
3. Evolution & Revolution
• Evolving technologies and ideas
• A revolution: reshaping the networks history
• Challenges & Expectations
9. 9!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
SDN concepts
(three basic abstractions)
(3) Forwarding Abstraction
(1) Specific Abstraction
(2) State Distribution Abstraction
10. 10!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
SDN concepts
(three basic abstractions)
(3) Forwarding Abstraction
(1) Specific Abstraction
(2) State Distribution
Abstraction
(3) Network Devices
(1) Virtualization
(2) Network Operating
Systems
11. 11!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
SDN concepts
(more abstractions?)
(3) Forwarding Abstraction
(1) Specific Abstraction
(2) State Distribution Abstraction
(4) Transmission Abstraction
Software-Defined
Radio (SDR) or
Wireless MAC
Processors
(WMP)?
Programmability
at the
transmission
level? … ?
12. 12!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Data Plane!
Control Plane!
SDN concepts
(control and data plane)
Farm of servers running
control software (NOS +
apps)SDN network
devices
(physical or
virtual), e.g.
OpenFlow
switch and
OpenVSwitch.
e.g. virtualized servers
using OpenVSwitch.
13. 13!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
How does it work?
(network operating systems)
Management Apps (control logic)
Network OS
A B C … N
Flow tables updated by
management apps,
through NOS.
Management apps:
routing protocols,
energy-aware routing,
access control, security
policy control, etc.
NOS e.g. NOX, POX,
Onix, Floodlight,
Beacon, Maestro, etc.
14. 14!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
How does it work?
(controller/NOS + apps)
Input
Stage
Output
Stage
Discovery
Intradomain
Routing
Routing
Table
Access
Control
Route Flow
Service
Access
Load
Balancing
Route Flow
Security
Policies
16. 16!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
SDN in layers
(from infra to user apps)
Infrastructure+
Virtualiza0on+(hypervisor)+
Languages:+programming,+policy+
descrip0on,+…+
Management+apps+
User+apps+
Virtualiza0on+(programming)+
(3)+Forwarding+Abstrac0on+
(2)+State+Distribu0on+
Abstrac0on+
(1)+Specific+Abstrac0ons+
Operator+requirements+
User+requirements+
Controller+
layer+
Network+Opera0ng+Systems+(NOS)+
(1)+Specific+Abstrac0ons+
17. 17!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
SDN in layers
(practical APIs)
Infrastructure+
Hypervisors+
Management+apps+
Controllers+
Northbound+API+
Southbound+API+OpenFlow like
protocols /
standards.
Operating
System like APIs
(e.g. Onix NVP
NBAPI,
Floodlight
RESTful API).
18. 18!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Roadmap
1. On the way to SDN
2. Software-Defined Networking
• Concepts
• How does it work?
• SDN in layers: a first attempt
3. Evolution & Revolution
• Evolving technologies and ideas
• A revolution: reshaping the networks history
• Challenges & Expectations
22. 22!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Evolution & Revolution
(smarter and better networks)
Ø Better troubleshooting and debugging
Ø Dynamic placement of servers and
middleboxes (e.g. DPI, firewalls, web
servers)
Ø Smart and autonomic management
Ø Better incremental scaling
Ø Fine grained QoS control
Ø Wireline and wireless control integration
Ø Integrated and improved wireless control
23. 23!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Evolution & Revolution
(things coming up or going wild)
Ø Virtualization going wild
Ø Live network migration
Ø Outsourcing of network functionalities
• e.g. AAA services, AAIs, DPI, IDS, IPS, …
Ø Dynamic resource provisioning in response
to load
Ø Automatic load balancing reconfiguration
Ø Automatic on demand bandwidth
Ø Open path to new Internet architectures
24. 24!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Challenges & Expectations
(carriers: practical examples)
Currently With SDN
All traffic is filtered Only targeted traffic is
filtered
In home only In home and mobile
Statically configured on a
per-device basis
Dynamically configurable
on a per-device basis
Per Network Element
scaling
Better incremental scaling
Traffic Steering (a Verizon’s perspective)
25. 25!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Challenges & Expectations
(carriers: practical examples)
Currently With SDN
All traffic from all probes
collected
Only targeted traffic from
targeted probes is
collected
Massive bandwidth
required
Efficient use of bandwidth
Statically configured Dynamically configured
Per Network Element
scaling
Better incremental scaling
Ad Hoc Topologies (a Verizon’s perspective)
26. 26!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Challenges & Expectations
(still on the carriers perspective)
NTT and AT&T vision
Ø New revenue models & cost reduction
Ø Network configuration made easy
Ø Customized services based on customers
needs
Ø Standards to interoperate with different
controllers
Ø A client may use at the same time different
controllers
27. 27!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Challenges & Expectations
(business advantages of SDN)
On the perspective of IBM & NEC
Ø Increased capacity consumption in 50%
Ø We can now virtualized the network from L1
to L4
Ø Location free appliance pooling, increasing
business deployments
Ø Increased speed for delivering new services
Ø Reduced power consumption migrating
"things" in a proactive way
28. 28!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Challenges & Expectations
(Network-as-a-Service in a near future?)
MPLS GMPLS
Optical(L1)
SaaS
Users
PaaS
Users
IaaS
Users
SaaS
Provider
IaaS
Provider
Content
Provider
PaaS
Provider
Wireless
Broadband
29. 29!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Roadmap
1. On the way to SDN
2. Software-Defined Networking
• Concepts
• How does it work?
• SDN in layers: a first attempt
3. Evolution & Revolution
• Evolving technologies and ideas
• A revolution: reshaping the networks history
• Challenges & Expectations
30. 30!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Almost closing
(a big ecosystem?)
Ø Open Networking Foundation (ONF)
Ø Big players on the playground …
• Most of the major networking companies
• Many big cloud providers
• Telcos from everywhere
Ø Several new StartUps
• New business opportunities
Ø Many free available controllers
Ø New products & possibilities
31. 31!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Almost closing
(notes & messages)
Ø Flexibility is one of the main driving forces
Ø Software is now the king
Ø Keep it simple
Ø Standard is your friend
Ø Loosely coupled elements (keep in mind)
Ø Vendor independence is on the way?
• We hope so
Ø Modularization
• Hide details, share only what is necessary
32. 32!SmallTalks, April, 2013!
Just for fun
(life is not only hard work J)
Ø Do you want to find out who is the James
Bond of SDN?
http://www.opennetsummit.org/archives-april2013/
• See talk of Vint Cert
(min 10 to 14)
Contrib: Fernando Ramos