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Status:

INFORMATIONAL

Authors:

E. Haleplidis, Ed.
K. Pentikousis, Ed.
S. Denazis
J. Hadi Salim
D. Meyer
O. Koufopavlou

Stream:

IRTF

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DOI:  https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC7426

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Abstract

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) refers to a new approach fornetwork programmability, that is, the capacity to initialize,control, change, and manage network behavior dynamically via openinterfaces. SDN emphasizes the role of software in running networksthrough the introduction of an abstraction for the data forwardingplane and, by doing so, separates it from the control plane. Thisseparation allows faster innovation cycles at both planes asexperience has already shown. However, there is increasing confusionas to what exactly SDN is, what the layer structure is in an SDNarchitecture, and how layers interface with each other. Thisdocument, a product of the IRTF Software-Defined Networking ResearchGroup (SDNRG), addresses these questions and provides a concisereference for the SDN research community based on relevant peer-reviewedliterature, the RFC series, and relevant documents by otherstandards organizations.

For the definition ofStatus,seeRFC 2026.

For the definition ofStream, seeRFC 8729.