SDNprotokollia

SDNprotokollia refers to the protocols used in Software-Defined Networking (SDN). SDN is an approach to network management that decouples the network control and forwarding functions, enabling network control to become directly programmable and the underlying infrastructure to be abstracted for applications and network services. This separation allows for a centralized control plane to manage the network, rather than distributed control planes in traditional networks.

The primary communication interface in SDN is between the control plane (controller) and the data plane (network devices like switches and routers). This interface is known as the southbound interface. Several protocols exist for this purpose, with OpenFlow being the most prominent and widely adopted. OpenFlow allows the controller to directly manipulate the forwarding tables of network devices, dictating how traffic should be handled. Other southbound protocols include Netconf and BGP-LS.

On the other hand, the northbound interface facilitates communication between the SDN controller and applications or higher-level orchestration systems. This interface allows applications to request network resources and services, and for the controller to present the network's state and capabilities. While there isn't a single standardized protocol for the northbound interface, common approaches involve RESTful APIs, gRPC, or custom protocols developed by vendors. The selection and implementation of these protocols are crucial for the effective functioning and programmability of an SDN environment.