Enabling Innovation Inside the Network

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Enabling Innovation Inside the Network

• Jennifer Rexford
• Computer Science DepartmentPrinceton University
• http//www.frenetic-lang.org/

With Nate Foster (Cornell), Mike Freedman
(Princeton), Dave Walker (Princeton)
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Traditional Computer Networks
Management plane Configuration
Control plane Distributed algorithms
Data plane Packet streaming
Proprietary software and vendor-specific
configuration interfaces
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Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Logically-centralized control
Smart, slow
Open API to the data plane (e.g., OpenFlow)
Dumb, fast
Switches
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Example Applications

• Seamless mobility/migration
• Dynamic access control
• Server load balancing
• Using multiple wireless access points
• Energy-efficient networking
• Adaptive traffic monitoring
• Denial-of-Service attack detection
• Network virtualization

See http//www.openflow.org/videos/
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Seamless Mobility/Migration

• See host sending traffic at new location
• Modify rules to reroute the traffic

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Programming OpenFlow Networks

• OpenFlow makes programming possible
• Network-wide view at controller
• Direct control over data plane
• The APIs do not make it easy
• Low level of abstraction
• Challenges
• Reading network state
• Composing multiple modules
• Updating an asynchronous network

Controller
Switches
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Frenetic Language and Run-Time System

• Frenetic today
• SQL-like queries of network state
• Run-time system for composing modules
• Consistent updates to network configuration

Learning Host Location
Select(packets) GroupBy(srcmac)
SplitWhen(inport) Limit(1)
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Conclusions

• Frenetic
• Programming language and run-time system
• Raises abstraction for network programming
• Enables a vibrant software ecosystem for SDN
• Ongoing work
• Heterogeneous switches
• Network virtualization
• Network appliances
• Distributed controllers