openstack-manuals/doc/arch-design/specialized/section_software_defined_networking_specialized.xml
Andreas Jaeger bae2eb60d3 Layer edits
Use "layer-2" instead of "layer 2" if it is used as an adjective like
"layer-2 network".

Change-Id: Ie3361e08d7781c1c799c6953026d81c2325a83c3
2014-08-12 07:15:29 +02:00

56 lines
2.4 KiB
XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
version="5.0"
xml:id="software-defined-networking-sdn">
<?dbhtml stop-chunking?>
<title>Software-defined networking</title>
<para>Software-defined networking (SDN) is the separation of the data
plane and control plane. SDN has become a popular method of
managing and controlling packet flows within networks. SDN
uses overlays or directly controlled layer-2 devices to
determine flow paths, and as such presents challenges to a
cloud environment. Some designers may wish to run their
controllers within an OpenStack installation. Others may wish
to have their installations participate in an SDN-controlled
network.</para>
<section xml:id="challenges-sdn">
<title>Challenges</title>
<para>SDN is a relatively new concept that is not yet
standardized, so SDN systems come in a variety of different
implementations. Because of this, a truly prescriptive
architecture is not feasible. Instead, examine the differences
between an existing or intended OpenStack design and determine
where the potential conflict and gaps can be found.</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="possible-solutions-sdn">
<title>Possible solutions</title>
<para>If an SDN implementation requires layer-2 access because it
directly manipulates switches, then running an overlay network
or a layer-3 agent may not be advisable. If the controller
resides within an OpenStack installation, it may be necessary
to build an ML2 plug-in and schedule the controller instances
to connect to tenant VLANs that then talk directly to the
switch hardware. Alternatively, depending on the external
device support, use a tunnel that terminates at the switch
hardware itself.</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="diagram-sdn">
<title>Diagram</title>
<para>OpenStack hosted SDN controller:
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="../images/Special_case_SDN_hosted.png"/>
</imageobject>
</mediaobject>
</para>
<para>OpenStack participating in an SDN controller network:
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="../images/Special_case_SDN_external.png"/>
</imageobject>
</mediaobject></para>
</section>
</section>