OpenFlow Experimenter Labels for Encoding Adaptive Network Functions

Abstract

OpenFlow is the single most important widely used protocol created for the development of software defined programmable adaptive network architectures. The protocol is based on standardization which allows for a highly extendable protocol that allows the introduction of new network functions and abstractions. This architecture brings computation and communication close together in order to bring network awareness into applications. However, lack of proper documentation and complex interaction between several software modules makes development a bit cumbersome in certain cases. The current method for introducing new OpenFlow functionality is to use Experimenter functions intended for extending OpenFlow functionality. In this paper we detail the process of introducing Experimenter Labels into both Open vSwitch and the Ryu controller in order to introduce new OpenFlow functionality.