Packet and Circuit Convergence with OpenFlow

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Packet and Circuit Convergence with OpenFlow
Stanford Clean Slate Program
http//cleanslate.stanford.edu
Guru Parulkarparulkar_at_stanford.eduwith Saurav
Das (Stanford), Nick McKeown (Stanford), Preeti
Singh (Ciena), Dan Getachew (Ciena), Lyndon Ong
(Ciena)
Funded by Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, DoCoMo,
Ericsson, Google, LightSpeed, MDV, NEC, NSF,
Xilinx
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Outline

• OpenFlow/Software Defined Networking
• Unifying packet and circuit networks
• Why providers like it

3

• Internet has many problems
• Plenty of evidence and documentation
• Internets root cause problem
• It is Closed for Innovations

4
We lost our way
App
App
App
5400 RFCs
Operating System
Specialized Packet Forwarding Hardware
Bloated
Power Hungry

• Many complex functions baked into the
  infrastructure
• OSPF, BGP, multicast, differentiated
  services,Traffic Engineering, NAT, firewalls,
  MPLS, redundant layers,
• An industry with a mainframe-mentality

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OpenFlow Enable Innovations within the
Infrastructure
PC
OpenFlow Switch
OpenFlow Protocol
SSL
Controller
Secure Channel
sw

• Add/delete flow entries
• Encapsulated packets
• Controller discovery

Flow Table
hw
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Sliced and Virtualized OpenFlow Infrastructure
Research Team A Controller
Research Team B Controller
Production Net Controller
OpenFlow Protocol
OpenFlow Protocol
Physical Infrastructure PacketCircuit Switches
wired, wireless, optical media
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Example Network Services

• Static VLANs
• New routing protocol unicast, multicast,
  multipath, load-balancing
• Network access control
• Mobile VM management
• Mobility and handoff management
• Energy management
• Packet processor (in controller)
• IPvX
• Network measurement and visualization

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OpenFlow Enabled Switches/Routers/APs
Juniper MX-series
WiFi
NEC IP8800
WiMax (NEC)
Cisco Catalyst 3750 (2010)
Ciena CoreDirector
Cisco Catalyst 6k
HP Procurve 5400
Arista 7100 series (2010)
More to follow...
Quanta LB4G
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OpenFlow as GENI Networking Substrate
A nationwide network before end of 2010
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European Deployment
Pan-European experimental facility

• L2 Packet
• Emulation
• Wireless
• Content delivery

• L2 Packet
• Wireless
• Routing

• L2 Packet
• Optics
• Content delivery

• L2 L3Packet
• Optics
• Content delivery

• L2 Packet
• Shadow networks

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OpenFlow A Hack to Experiment? Is there a
bigger architecture story with business
implications?
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OpenFlow Enable Innovations within the
Infrastructure
PC
OpenFlow Switch
OpenFlow Protocol
SSL
Controller
Secure Channel
sw

• Add/delete flow entries
• Encapsulated packets
• Controller discovery

Flow Table
hw
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Architecturally what It Means
App
App
App
Network Operating System
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
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Packet and Circuit Convergence with OpenFlow
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Motivation
IP Transport Networks (Carriers view)
C
IP/MPLS
D
IP/MPLS
C

• are separate networks managed and operated
• independently
• resulting in duplication of functions and
• resources in multiple layers
• and significant capex and opex burdens
• well known

C
D
D
IP/MPLS
C
IP/MPLS
D
C
D
C
D
C
D
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Convergence is hard
Two networks have very different
architectures previous attempts assumed
networks remain the same
We believe true convergence will come about from
architectural change!
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Software Defined Networking
Research Goal Packet and Circuit Flows
Commonly Controlled Managed
D
D
D
Simple, network of Flow Switches
Simple, Unified, Automated Control Plane
D
D
Flow Network
D
D
that switch at different granularities
packet, time-slot, lambda fiber
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OpenFlow Circuit Switches
PacketFlows
Exploit the cross-connect table in circuit
switches
Circuit Flows
Signal Type
Signal Type
VCG
VCG
The Flow Abstraction presents a unifying
abstraction blurring distinction between
underlying packet and circuit and regarding both
as flows in a flow-switched network
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OpenFlow Example
OpenFlow (software)
OpenFlow (software)
Packet Switch Fabric
Packet Switch Fabric
TDM Circuit Switch Fabric
VCG3
VCG5
GE ports
TDM ports
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Network Recovery
Congestion Control
Converged packets dynamic circuits opens up
new capabilities
Routing
Traffic Engineering
QoS
Power Mgmt
VPNs
Discovery
OpenFlow Protocol
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Example Application
Congestion Control
..via Variable Bandwidth Packet Links
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OpenFlow Demo at SC09
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Demo Video
http//www.openflowswitch.org/wk/index.php/PAC.C
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Why providers want it
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New Generation Providers Already Buy into It

• In a nutshell
• Driven by cost and control
• Started in data centers.
• What New Generation Providers have been Doing
  Within the Datacenters
• Buy bare metal switches
• Write their own control/management applications
  on a common platform

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Example New Data Center
Cost 200,000 servers Fanout of 20 a 10,000
switches 5k commercial switch a 50M 1k
custom-built switch a 10M Savings in 10 data
centers 400M

• Control
• Optimize for features needed
• Customize for services apps
• Quickly improve and innovate

The value prop applies to enterprise and service
provider networks
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Going Forward

• They want to apply this approach to other parts
  of their infrastructure
• Work together to bring this change at a bigger
  scale
• Another way to look at it

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Meeting of Minds with Providers
App
App
App
Network Operating System
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
Simple Packet Forwarding Hardware
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Consequences

• More innovation in network services
• Owners, operators, 3rd party developers,
  researchers can improve the network
• E.g. energy management, data center management,
  policy routing, access control, denial of
  service, mobility
• Lower barrier to entry for competition
• Healthier market place with reducing CapexOpEx

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Ecosystem Coming TogetherRole for Everyone to
Contribute

• Researchers and RE Networks
• Providers old and new
• Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, (Microsoft, Facebook),
• DT, DoCoMo, BT (Level3, Verizon, )
• Box vendors
• Enterprise and backbone
• Packet and circuit (electronic and photonics)
• Incumbents and startups
• Chip vendors
• Broadcom, Dune, Marvell, .

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OpenFlow As Networking Substrate

• A platform for innovations
• Within enterprise, backbone, data center
  networks
• Providers already buy into this vision
• For their own reasons
• Opportunities
• Eco system is coming together
• Time to engage

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Thank You!!