Operation and management

Operation

The OpenFlow protocol uses unsecured TCP as the transport. Using OpenFlow, a controller adds, updates, and deletes flow entries in response to changing network conditions, and retrieves OpenFlow performance and forwarding statistics.

Management

The Manage OpenFlow form is the interface for all GUI management of OpenFlow. Using the form, you can display and manage the following:

• OpenFlow channel states

• flow tables and flow entries

• ACL filter bindings to switch instances

• LSPs associated with a switch

• SNMP statistics for OpenFlow ports

• OpenFlow operation and forwarding statistics

The properties form of an OpenFlow switch displays the following:

• controller communication parameters

• OpenFlow host device type and software release

• OpenFlow configuration information

Note: OpenFlow information is displayed only when there is an active OpenFlow session between the switch and controller.

From an IPv4 or IPv6 ACL filter properties form, you can list and view the associated OpenFlow filter.

Multiple controllers

You can create up to two OpenFlow controller definitions for each switch instance. The controllers have no awareness of each other, but have access to all switch information, including the flow information associated with the other controller.

The following figure shows two NFM-P systems that act as independent OpenFlow controllers of multiple switch instances on one NE.

Figure 29-2: Dual OpenFlow controllers

OpenFlow statistics

The NFM-P collects the following statistics from each OpenFlow switch:

• port statistics collected using SNMP

• aggregated packet counts per flow table

• aggregated packet and byte counts per flow entry