Openflow

OpenFlow Researchers

Head		Dr. Thomas Zinner

Members		Michael Jarschel Dominik Klein

Student Helpers		Thomas Höhn Christopher Metter
Students		Nicholas Gray

Research Field Description

The idea of OpenFlow is to separate the data path from the control path. This means that simple forwarding still resides on the switch, whereas high-level routing decisions are done on a separate controller. This split of the switching and controlling logic enables the creation of vendor-independent intelligent control mechanisms.

OpenFlow Controller Performance

In the OpenFlow architecture the operating system is represented by the OpenFlow controller. As the key component of the OpenFlow ecosystem, the behavior and performance of the controller are significant for the entire network. Therefore, it is important to understand these influence factors, when planning an OpenFlow-based SDN deployment. We have built a tool to help achieving just that - a flexible OpenFlow controller benchmark. The benchmark creates a set of message-generating virtual switches, which can be configured independently from each other to emulate a certain scenario and also keep their own statistics. This way a granular controller performance analysis is possible.

OpenFlow Omnet++ Extension

Only few performance evaluations of OpenFlow architectures exist. Testbeds are often limited to smaller topologies, but the mentioned problems of a controller especially occur on larger, geographically distributed architectures. Simulation tools are much more suitable for this task since they allow to evaluate the scalability of the chosen controller. Furthermore, they allow to validate mechanisms before their deployment. Additionally, changes in the specification of the investigated technology can easily be integrated in the simulation model.

We present the implementation of our model of the OpenFlow system for INET-2.0 andOMNeT++ 4.2 based on the OpenFlow switch specification 1.0.
Further information and the source code can be found here.

ECDC: Energy effiCient Data Center

An IaaS provider has to find a good balance between the various customer application requirements and the efficient use of the available resources in the data center. The ECDC (Energy effiCient Data Center) approach is a smart mechanism for finding this balance. It leverages monitoring information from machines as well as network devices and environmental data to create a coherent view of the current situation in a data center. This alone enables a single network operator to react to system changes as soon as they happen. However, the monitoring data is also used by a smart control application to react in certain situations by redistributing virtual machines, traffic flows and VLANs as well as powering devices up and down.

Modeling of OpenFlow

Understanding the performance and limitations of the basic OpenFlow concept is a prerequisite for using it for experiments with new protocols and mechanisms. Therefore, we aim to provide a performance model of an OpenFlow system. The model is based on results from queuing theory and is verified by simulations and measurement experiments with a real OpenFlow switch and controller. We intent to gradually refine the model and adapt it to the needs of the community. The advantage of an analytical model over the simulation is the fact that it can provide indicators for performance and scalability in a few seconds. time whereas the simulation may require several hours to complete depending on the computing hardware and therefore provide fast feedback.

IPOM: Interactive Proxy Management

The Interactive PrOxy Management (IPOM) tool enables us to define and emulate networks of arbitrary complexity on top of existing experimental facilities by means of OpenFlow and network emulating proxy nodes. The IPOM tool is split into two parts, the topology editor for creating a network topology and the topology management tool for controlling the flows in the network. Before running experiments in a testbed environment, the physical network topology can be mapped using the IPOM topology editor. The IPOM management tool provides the possibility to dynamically add and remove proxies. Additionally, arbitrary OpenFlow actions can be installed for any flow.

Inproceedings[ to top ]

An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework. Klein, Dominik; Jarschel, Michael. In 6th International Workshop on OMNeT++. Cannes, France, 2013.
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Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a new paradigm for communication networks which separates the control plane from the data plane of forwarding elements. This way, SDN constitutes a flexible architecture that allows quick and easy configuration of network devices. This ability is particularly useful when networks have to be adapted to changing traffic volumes of different applications running on the network. OpenFlow is currently the most prominent approach which implements the SDN concept and offers a high flexibility in the routing of network flows. In this paper, we describe the implementation of our model of the OpenFlow system in the INET framework for OMNeT++. We present performance results to show the correctness of our model. As a first application, we use the simulation model to assess the round-trip-times in a theoretical OpenFlow deployment in a real topology of a North-American Testbed.

@inproceedings{info3-inproceedings-2013-461, abstract = {Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a new paradigm for communication networks which separates the control plane from the data plane of forwarding elements. This way, SDN constitutes a flexible architecture that allows quick and easy configuration of network devices. This ability is particularly useful when networks have to be adapted to changing traffic volumes of different applications running on the network. OpenFlow is currently the most prominent approach which implements the SDN concept and offers a high flexibility in the routing of network flows. In this paper, we describe the implementation of our model of the OpenFlow system in the INET framework for OMNeT++. We present performance results to show the correctness of our model. As a first application, we use the simulation model to assess the round-trip-times in a theoretical OpenFlow deployment in a real topology of a North-American Testbed.}, address = {Cannes, France}, author = {Klein, Dominik and Jarschel, Michael}, booktitle = {6th International Workshop on OMNeT++}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {03}, title = {An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework}, year = 2013 }

%0 Conference Paper %1 info3-inproceedings-2013-461 %A Klein, Dominik %A Jarschel, Michael %B 6th International Workshop on OMNeT++ %C Cannes, France %D 2013 %T An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework %X Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a new paradigm for communication networks which separates the control plane from the data plane of forwarding elements. This way, SDN constitutes a flexible architecture that allows quick and easy configuration of network devices. This ability is particularly useful when networks have to be adapted to changing traffic volumes of different applications running on the network. OpenFlow is currently the most prominent approach which implements the SDN concept and offers a high flexibility in the routing of network flows. In this paper, we describe the implementation of our model of the OpenFlow system in the INET framework for OMNeT++. We present performance results to show the correctness of our model. As a first application, we use the simulation model to assess the round-trip-times in a theoretical OpenFlow deployment in a real topology of a North-American Testbed.
A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark. Jarschel, Michael; Lehrieder, Frank; Magyari, Zsolt; Pries, Rastin. In 1st European Workshop on Software Defined Networks (EWSDN 2012). Darmstadt, Germany, 2012.
- [ Abstract ]
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
- [ Download ]
Software defined networking (SDN) promises a way to more flexible networks that can adapt to changing demands. At the same time these networks should also benefit from simpler management mechanisms. This is achieved by moving the network control out of the forwarding devices to purpose-tailored software-applications on top of a ”networking operating system”. Currently, the most notable representative of this approach is OpenFlow. In the OpenFlow architecture the operating system is represented by the OpenFlow controller. As the key component of the OpenFlow ecosystem, the behavior and performance of the controller are significant for the entire network. Therefore, it is important to understand these influence factors, when planning an OpenFlow-based SDN deployment. In this work, we introduce a tool to help achieving just that - a flexible OpenFlow controller benchmark. The benchmark creates a set of message-generating virtual switches, which can be configured independently from each other to emulate a certain scenario and also keep their own statistics. This way a granular controller performance analysis is possible.

@inproceedings{info3-inproceedings-2012-455, abstract = {Software defined networking (SDN) promises a way to more flexible networks that can adapt to changing demands. At the same time these networks should also benefit from simpler management mechanisms. This is achieved by moving the network control out of the forwarding devices to purpose-tailored software-applications on top of a ”networking operating system”. Currently, the most notable representative of this approach is OpenFlow. In the OpenFlow architecture the operating system is represented by the OpenFlow controller. As the key component of the OpenFlow ecosystem, the behavior and performance of the controller are significant for the entire network. Therefore, it is important to understand these influence factors, when planning an OpenFlow-based SDN deployment. In this work, we introduce a tool to help achieving just that - a flexible OpenFlow controller benchmark. The benchmark creates a set of message-generating virtual switches, which can be configured independently from each other to emulate a certain scenario and also keep their own statistics. This way a granular controller performance analysis is possible.}, address = {Darmstadt, Germany}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Lehrieder, Frank and Magyari, Zsolt and Pries, Rastin}, booktitle = {1st European Workshop on Software Defined Networks (EWSDN 2012)}, keywords = {openflow}, month = 10, title = {A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark}, year = 2012 }

%0 Conference Paper %1 info3-inproceedings-2012-455 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Lehrieder, Frank %A Magyari, Zsolt %A Pries, Rastin %B 1st European Workshop on Software Defined Networks (EWSDN 2012) %C Darmstadt, Germany %D 2012 %T A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark %X Software defined networking (SDN) promises a way to more flexible networks that can adapt to changing demands. At the same time these networks should also benefit from simpler management mechanisms. This is achieved by moving the network control out of the forwarding devices to purpose-tailored software-applications on top of a ”networking operating system”. Currently, the most notable representative of this approach is OpenFlow. In the OpenFlow architecture the operating system is represented by the OpenFlow controller. As the key component of the OpenFlow ecosystem, the behavior and performance of the controller are significant for the entire network. Therefore, it is important to understand these influence factors, when planning an OpenFlow-based SDN deployment. In this work, we introduce a tool to help achieving just that - a flexible OpenFlow controller benchmark. The benchmark creates a set of message-generating virtual switches, which can be configured independently from each other to emulate a certain scenario and also keep their own statistics. This way a granular controller performance analysis is possible.
On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments. Pries, Rastin; Jarschel, Michael; Goll, Sebastian. In Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012). Ottawa, Canada, 2012.
- [ Abstract ]
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
- [ Download ]
Since its introduction OpenFlow has been used as an enabler for network experiments in a variety of fields. Although OpenFlow was initially only used in the research domain, the concept is now finding its way into data centers due to the relatively cheap hardware and high flexibility. In this paper, we take a look at the scalability and usability of OpenFlow in data centers. Based on data center traffic models and OpenFlow measurements, we evaluate whether OpenFlow is able to cope with the short flow inter-arrival times in data centers by means of simulation.

@inproceedings{info3-inproceedings-2012-438, abstract = {Since its introduction OpenFlow has been used as an enabler for network experiments in a variety of fields. Although OpenFlow was initially only used in the research domain, the concept is now finding its way into data centers due to the relatively cheap hardware and high flexibility. In this paper, we take a look at the scalability and usability of OpenFlow in data centers. Based on data center traffic models and OpenFlow measurements, we evaluate whether OpenFlow is able to cope with the short flow inter-arrival times in data centers by means of simulation.}, address = {Ottawa, Canada}, author = {Pries, Rastin and Jarschel, Michael and Goll, Sebastian}, booktitle = {Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012)}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {06}, title = {On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments}, year = 2012 }

%0 Conference Paper %1 info3-inproceedings-2012-438 %A Pries, Rastin %A Jarschel, Michael %A Goll, Sebastian %B Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012) %C Ottawa, Canada %D 2012 %T On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments %X Since its introduction OpenFlow has been used as an enabler for network experiments in a variety of fields. Although OpenFlow was initially only used in the research domain, the concept is now finding its way into data centers due to the relatively cheap hardware and high flexibility. In this paper, we take a look at the scalability and usability of OpenFlow in data centers. Based on data center traffic models and OpenFlow measurements, we evaluate whether OpenFlow is able to cope with the short flow inter-arrival times in data centers by means of simulation.
Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture. Jarschel, Michael; Oechsner, Simon; Schlosser, Daniel; Pries, Rastin; Goll, Sebastian; Tran-Gia, Phuoc. In 23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011). San Francisco, CA, USA, 2011.
- [ Abstract ]
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
- [ Download ]
The OpenFlow concept of flow-based forwarding and separation of the control plane from the data plane provides a new flexibility in network innovation. While initially used solely in the research domain, OpenFlow is now finding its way into commercial applications. However, this creates new challenges, as questions of OpenFlow scalability and performance have not yet been answered. This paper is a first step towards that goal. Based on measurements of switching times of current OpenFlow hardware, we derive a basic model for the forwarding speed and blocking probability of an OpenFlow switch combined with an OpenFlow controller and validate it using a simulation. This model can be used to estimate the packet sojourn time and the probability of lost packets in such a system and can give hints to developers and researchers on questions how an OpenFlow architecture will perform given certain parameters.

@inproceedings{info3-inproceedings-2011-423, abstract = {The OpenFlow concept of flow-based forwarding and separation of the control plane from the data plane provides a new flexibility in network innovation. While initially used solely in the research domain, OpenFlow is now finding its way into commercial applications. However, this creates new challenges, as questions of OpenFlow scalability and performance have not yet been answered. This paper is a first step towards that goal. Based on measurements of switching times of current OpenFlow hardware, we derive a basic model for the forwarding speed and blocking probability of an OpenFlow switch combined with an OpenFlow controller and validate it using a simulation. This model can be used to estimate the packet sojourn time and the probability of lost packets in such a system and can give hints to developers and researchers on questions how an OpenFlow architecture will perform given certain parameters.}, address = {San Francisco, CA, USA}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Oechsner, Simon and Schlosser, Daniel and Pries, Rastin and Goll, Sebastian and Tran-Gia, Phuoc}, booktitle = {23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011)}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {09}, title = {Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture}, year = 2011 }

%0 Conference Paper %1 info3-inproceedings-2011-423 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Oechsner, Simon %A Schlosser, Daniel %A Pries, Rastin %A Goll, Sebastian %A Tran-Gia, Phuoc %B 23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011) %C San Francisco, CA, USA %D 2011 %T Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture %X The OpenFlow concept of flow-based forwarding and separation of the control plane from the data plane provides a new flexibility in network innovation. While initially used solely in the research domain, OpenFlow is now finding its way into commercial applications. However, this creates new challenges, as questions of OpenFlow scalability and performance have not yet been answered. This paper is a first step towards that goal. Based on measurements of switching times of current OpenFlow hardware, we derive a basic model for the forwarding speed and blocking probability of an OpenFlow switch combined with an OpenFlow controller and validate it using a simulation. This model can be used to estimate the packet sojourn time and the probability of lost packets in such a system and can give hints to developers and researchers on questions how an OpenFlow architecture will perform given certain parameters.

Misc[ to top ]

An OpenFlow-Based Energy-Efficient Data Center Approach. Jarschel, Michael; Pries, Rastin. Helsinki, Finland, 2012, August.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@misc{info3-software-2012-10, address = {Helsinki, Finland}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Pries, Rastin}, booktitle = {SIGCOMM}, keywords = {sys:hidden:software}, month = {08}, title = {An OpenFlow-Based Energy-Efficient Data Center Approach}, year = 2012 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-software-2012-10 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Pries, Rastin %B SIGCOMM %C Helsinki, Finland %D 2012 %T An OpenFlow-Based Energy-Efficient Data Center Approach
IPOM: Interactive Proxy Management Tool for Future Communication Networks Using OpenFlow. Jarschel, Michael; Schlosser, Daniel; Duelli, Michael; Pries, Rastin. Kaiserslautern, Germany, 2011, June.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@misc{info3-software-2011-6, address = {Kaiserslautern, Germany}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Schlosser, Daniel and Duelli, Michael and Pries, Rastin}, booktitle = {Next Generation Internet (NGI)}, keywords = {sys:hidden:software}, month = {06}, title = {IPOM: Interactive Proxy Management Tool for Future Communication Networks Using OpenFlow}, year = 2011 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-software-2011-6 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Schlosser, Daniel %A Duelli, Michael %A Pries, Rastin %B Next Generation Internet (NGI) %C Kaiserslautern, Germany %D 2011 %T IPOM: Interactive Proxy Management Tool for Future Communication Networks Using OpenFlow

Presentation[ to top ]

An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework. Klein, Dominik. 6th International Workshop on OMNeT++, Cannes, France, 2013, March 5.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@presentation{info3-talk-2013-462, address = {6th International Workshop on OMNeT++, Cannes, France}, author = {Klein, Dominik}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {03}, title = {An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework}, year = 2013 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-talk-2013-462 %A Klein, Dominik %C 6th International Workshop on OMNeT++, Cannes, France %D 2013 %T An OpenFlow Extension for the OMNeT++ INET Framework
A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark. Jarschel, Michael; Lehrieder, Frank; Magyari, Zsolt; Pries, Rastin. European Workshop on Software Defined Networks, Darmstadt, Germany, 2012, October 26.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@presentation{info3-talk-2012-450, address = {European Workshop on Software Defined Networks, Darmstadt, Germany}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Lehrieder, Frank and Magyari, Zsolt and Pries, Rastin}, keywords = {openflow}, month = 10, title = {A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark}, year = 2012 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-talk-2012-450 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Lehrieder, Frank %A Magyari, Zsolt %A Pries, Rastin %C European Workshop on Software Defined Networks, Darmstadt, Germany %D 2012 %T A Flexible OpenFlow-Controller Benchmark
On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments. Pries, Rastin. Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012), 2012, June 11.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@presentation{info3-talk-2012-443, address = {Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012)}, author = {Pries, Rastin}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {06}, title = {On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments}, year = 2012 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-talk-2012-443 %A Pries, Rastin %C Workshop on Clouds, Networks and Data Centers collocated with the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2012) %D 2012 %T On the Usability of OpenFlow in Data Center Environments
Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture. Jarschel, Michael; Oechsner, Simon; Schlosser, Daniel; Pries, Rastin; Goll, Sebastian; Tran-Gia, Phuoc. 23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2011, September 6.
- [ BibTeX ]
- [ EndNote ]
@presentation{info3-talk-2011-431, address = {23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011), San Francisco, CA, USA}, author = {Jarschel, Michael and Oechsner, Simon and Schlosser, Daniel and Pries, Rastin and Goll, Sebastian and Tran-Gia, Phuoc}, keywords = {openflow}, month = {09}, title = {Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture}, year = 2011 }

%0 Generic %1 info3-talk-2011-431 %A Jarschel, Michael %A Oechsner, Simon %A Schlosser, Daniel %A Pries, Rastin %A Goll, Sebastian %A Tran-Gia, Phuoc %C 23rd International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 2011), San Francisco, CA, USA %D 2011 %T Modeling and Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture

Research Interests

Application-Aware SDN
Performance Analysis
Enabling Energy-Efficiency
Network Management
Control Plane Architectures
Enabling Service Component Mobility
Multipath Transmission

Funded Projects

Diploma, Master and Bachelor Theses

Christian Rachor, Implementation and Evaluation of OpenFlow in Omnet++.
Zsolt Magyari, Implementation and Evaluation of an OpenFlow Controller Benchmark.
Adnan Pasic, Implementation and Measurement of an Energy-Efficient Data-Center-Operation Using OpenFlow.
Sebastian Goll, Performance Evaluation of Network Control and Isolation Mechanisms in Future Virtualized Networks.
Stanislav Lange, Implementation of Interactive Proxy Management in Future Communication Networks using OpenFlow.
Christopher Metter, Integrating a sliceable OpenFlow Network into the G-Lab Test Facility.

Internships

Martin Hellmich, Design of a Measurement Concept for Performance Evaluation of an OpenFlow Architecture.