This document discusses the role of SDN controllers in OpenStack. It provides background on SDN controllers and OpenStack. SDN controllers can be integrated with OpenStack via the Neutron module to manage network flows and enable programmability. Several SDN controllers that integrate with Neutron are discussed, including OpenDaylight, OpenContrail, and ONOS. The document outlines how these controllers plug into Neutron and their current status in OpenStack. It provides guidance on how new SDN controllers can join OpenStack.

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Security Level:
www.huawei.com
Role of SDN Controllers in
OpenStack
Author/ Email: Vikram Choudhary (Huawei)
Numan Siddique (RedHat)

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What’s there in the plate?
 Background preparation
 SDN Controllers
 OpenStack
 Neutron
 SDN Controller’s & Openstack: Big Picture
 SDN controller’s for Openstack
 OpenDaylight
 OpenContrail
 Open Networking Operating System
 Many more…
 How to become part of OpenStack?
 Q/A

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Background before deep dive

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What is a SDN Controller?
An SDN controller is an application in
software-defined networking (SDN)
that manages flow control to enable
intelligent networking.
SDN controllers are based on
protocols, such as OpenFlow, that
allow servers to tell switches where
to send packets.

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Word about OpenStack
o OpenStack can be considered to
be not one project but several,
consisting of compute, storage
and networking.
o All three platform components
are managed by a dashboard
Web application.
o Combined, they can provide a
complete cloud network
operating system.

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OpenStack module to talk about: Neutron
o Neutron was introduced to treat
networking as a separate service.
o Can run as an autonomous service,
exposes APIs with different
vendors, provides implementations
by appropriate extensions.
o In short, neutron is NOT SDN, but
in theory can transform anything
into SDN, Just provide a plug-in for
it.

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Big Picture

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SDN Controller and OpenStack

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 OpenStack Neutron, with its plug-in architecture, provides the ability to integrate SDN
controllers into the OpenStack. provides centralized management, and facilitates the
network programmability using APIs.
 OpenStack is relatively mature and is in use in production environments worldwide.
This enables organizations to take advantage of the network orchestration feature
without necessarily deploying a full-blown controller-led SDN solution.
 Different integration options:
 Completely eliminate RPC communications between the Neutron server and agents on the
compute node, with the SDN controller being the sole entity managing the network.
 SDN controller manages only the physical switches, and the virtual switches can
be managed from the Neutron server directly.

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SDN controller’s for Openstack

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 OpenDaylight is integrated with Openstack via a Neutron plug-in.
 Plug-in moves the complexity up the stack from OpenStack to OpenDaylight.

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Status in Openstack:
ODL ML2 driver available in Icehouse release
• Supports VXLAN and GRE
• Devstack
• Focus on core Neutron Functionality, still use DHCP, L3 Agents
ODL ML2 in Kilo (current)
• Changed auth to basic auth
• Vendor decomposition – networking-odl in OpenStack big tent
• Added support for L3 Service, FWaaS, LBaaS

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The OpenContrail Controller is a logically centralized but
physically distributed Software Defined Networking (SDN)
controller that is responsible for providing
 Management
 Control, and
 Analytics functions of the virtualized network.

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 OpenContrail is integrated with Openstack via a Neutron plug-in.

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Status in Openstack:
ODL ML2 driver available

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A new carrier-grade SDN network
operating system designed for
 high availability
 performance
 scale-out.
Mission: “to produce the Open Source
Network Operating System that will
enable service providers to build real
Software Defined Network”

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Status in Openstack:
Just arrived 
 Work in Progress
o https://bugs.launchpad.net/networking-onos/+bug/1474240
o https://github.com/openstack/networking-onos

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Inputs for new SDN controller’s for
joining the party!

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 https://github.com/openstack/neutron/blob/master/doc/source/devref/sub_proje
cts.rst
 http://docs.openstack.org/infra/manual/creators.html#add-new-repository-to-
the-governance-repository

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Keep the thinking Hat On, many more
to come!
Thanks 