Deployment Guide

Introduction

OpenFlow (OF) 1.0 [STD-1] is supported on the S4810, S4820T, S6000, Z9500, and MXL switches.

Overview

In a software-defined network (SDN), an external controller cluster manages the network and the resources on each switch. OpenFlow is

a protocol used for communication between the controller and the switch.

In the example topology below, the controller uses the OpenFlow protocol to communicate with two S4810 switches.

Figure 1. OpenFlow Topology

OpenFlow offloads all switching and routing protocol state machines to the controller. A simplified and efficient software layer on the

switch programs the forwarding tables.

Dell currently supports OpenFlow version 1.0 and 1.3.1. For information about exceptions, refer to Exceptions.

Topics:

• OpenFlow 1.0 Support

• OpenFlow 1.3 Support

• New features in 9.11(0.0)

Introduction 5