Without an OpenFlow controller, an OpenFlow-capable switch has no intelligence when it comes to forwarding traffic. Whether the controller runs locally on the switch, or on a server in the network, the controller is central to how OpenFlow works. Here, we will look at two simple examples: Floodlight and Indigo.
Floodlight is an open source OpenFlow controller that was initially released by Big Switch in 2011. It is a Java-based OpenFlow controller based on the Beacon OpenFlow controller written by David Erikson originally at Stanford and then further enhanced while he was working for Big Switch Networks.
Floodlight utilizes a RESTful API, which can be controlled via curl
, Postman, or any other REST compliant tool.