OpenFlow on GENI

There are a few different ways to start experimenting with OpenFlow on the GENI network:

  1. Install Open vSwitch on a standard GENI node
  2. Request access to the GENI Mesoscale Infrastructure
  3. Reserve one of the HP Switches in the GENI environment and install OpenFlow

Installing Open vSwitch

The preferred method for experimenters looking to play with OpenFlow is option #1. Open vSwitch is a software package which you can install on an ordinary node and have it act as a switch which implements OpenFlow.

This is also the easiest option with the lowest barrier to entry. The third tutorial, Programming Networks with OpenFlow will walk you through the exact steps required to make this work.

Using the GENI Mesoscale Infrastructure

GENI’s Mesoscale environment is a perfect place to run a large-scale OpenFLow experiment beyond a software-based option like Open vSwitch. Because this option requires coordination with the GENi Project Office (GPO), you may want to get you experiment running with Open vSwitch first, if that’s an option.

From there, reach out to help@geni.net for more information on obtaining a subnet for your experiment. A third-party, but detailed guide on how you might get your project running on the Mesoscale infrastructure is available on Github.

Reserve an HP Switch and install OpenFlow

This is an advanced option for getting up and running on OpenFlow. If you’re ambitious enough to reserve HP OpenFlow hardware, or simply have the need, reach out to help@geni.net for more information.

Additional Resources