SDN Bootcamp

Software-Defined Networking Bootcamp, Spring 2013

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) refactors the network control plane to enable programmatic control of packet forwarding and increase network flexibility. Instead of having a switch-resident control plane define a forwarding (or routing) information base (e.g., using RIP, OSPF, etc.), the forwarding information base used by each switch's data plane is established by applications running atop a logically centralized SDN controller. These applications operate on a (abstract) view of the network topology to define the forwarding behavior of each (virtual) network switch. The controller translates these directives into forwarding rules which are installed in a flow table at each physical switch. The data plane in each switch matches packets against the rules in the flow table (based on fields in the Ethernet, IP, and transport headers) and the actions (forward, flood, drop, etc.) defined in the matching rule are applied to the packets.

SDN Bootcamp teaches participants how to write SDN applications to achieved some desired control over the forwarding behavior of a network. Participants will be introduced to OpenFlow (the current industry-wide standard for SDN), common SDN controllers (POX and Floodlight), tools for testing and debugging applications, and the typical software and hardware components included in an actual SDN deployment. Using this knowledge, participants will develop several SDN applications that implement basic control over network forwarding and leverage the key capabilities exposed by SDN controllers. Participants will use the skills they develop to complete a micro capstone project, in which they will write an SDN application relevant to their interests.

Application

We received an overwhelming response for the Spring 2013 edition of SDN Bootcamp. Thanks!

Unfortunately, this means we have closed enrollment. If you still want to enroll (and have a burning reason for why you must attend, e.g., "I'm graduating in May and this is my last chance"), then send an email to akella{at}cs{dot}wisc{dot}edu.