XI
Preface
Software-defined network (SDN)/OpenFlow research and develop-
ment have attracted the attention of many researchers and companies.
e key idea of an SDN is to split the network forwarding function,
performed by the data plane, from the network control function, per-
formed by the control plane. is allows a simpler and more flexible
network control and management, and also network virtualization.
OpenFlow is the main SDN implementation. e network controller
communicates with OpenFlow switches using the OpenFlow proto-
col through a secure channel. Using this connection, the controller is
able to configure the forwarding tables of the switch. e figure (in
the right) shows a simple OpenFlow architecture.
OpenFlow-based SDN technologies enable ...