Nosix: A Lightweight Portability Layer For The Sdn Os

In spite of the standardization of the OpenFlow API, it is very difficult to write an SDN controller application that is portable (i.e., guarantees correct packet processing over a wide range of switches) and achieves good performance (i.e., fully leverages switch capabilities). This is because the switch landscape is fundamentally diverse in performance, feature set and supported APIs. We propose to address this challenge via a lightweight portability layer that acts as a rendezvous point between the requirements of controller application and the vendor knowledge of switch implementations. Above, applications specify rules in virtual flow tables annotated with semantic intents and expectations. Below, vendor specific drivers map them to optimized switch-specific rule sets. NOSIX represents a first step towards achieving both portability and good performance across a diverse set of switches.