software-defined networking: evolution or revolution?

Software-Defined Networking: Evolution or Revolution?

Diego Kreutz [email protected]

LASIGE - Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory FCUL - Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon

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


On the way to SDN (currently: tied data/control plane)

Data Plane!

Control Plan

e!

Management P

lane!

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.


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


On the way to SDN (decoupled data and control plane)

Data Plane!

Control Plan

e!

Management P

lane!

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?


On the way to SDN (current networks & SDN)

Data Plane!

Control Plan

e!

Management P

lane!

Data Plane!

Control Plan

e!

Management P

lane!

Current Networks! Software-Defined Networks!Flexibility and

high level programmability.

Abstraction layer (e.g. OS like interfaces)

Programmability, openness and

standard interfaces.


SDN concepts (three basic abstractions)

(3) Forwarding Abstraction

(1) Specific Abstraction

(2) State Distribution Abstraction


SDN concepts (three basic abstractions)




(3) Network Devices

(1) Virtualization

(2) Network Operating Systems


SDN concepts (more abstractions?)




(4) Transmission Abstraction

Software-Defined Radio (SDR) or Wireless MAC

Processors (WMP)?

Programmability at the

transmission level? … ?


Data Plane!

Control Plan

e!

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.


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.


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


How does it work? (controllers)

Infrastructure+

Infrastructure+

Infrastructure+

Infrastructure+


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+


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).


Evolution & Revolution (evolving technologies)


Evolution & Revolution (disruptive ideas, concepts & possibilities)


Evolution & Revolution (evolving network control)

Infrastructure+

SSH+/+Telnet+

CLI+

OpenFlow) NetConfig+ Vendor9specific+ SNMP+

Open+Controller+ Vendor+Controller+

App+(rouAng)+

App+(firewall)+

Physical+Network+

Controllers+

Management+Protocols+

ApplicaAons+ App+(IPS/IDS)+

App+(load+bal.)+


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


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


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)


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)


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


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


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


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


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


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