Languages for software-defined networks

Modern computer networks perform a bewildering array of tasks, from routing and traffic monitoring, to access control and server load balancing. However, managing these networks is unnecessarily complicated and error-prone, due to a heterogeneous mix of devices (e.g., routers, switches, firewalls, and middleboxes) with closed and proprietary configuration interfaces. Softwaredefined networks are poised to change this by offering a clean and open interface between networking devices and the software that controls them. In particular, many commercial switches support the OpenFlow protocol, and a number of campus, data center, and backbone networks have deployed the new technology. However, while SDNs make it possible to program the network, they does not make it easy. Today´s OpenFlow controllers offer low-level APIs that mimic the underlying switch hardware. To reach SDNs full potential, we need to identify the right higher-level abstractions for creating (and composing) applications. In the Frenetic project, we are designing simple and intuitive abstractions for programming the three main stages of network management: monitoring network traffic, specifying and composing packet forwarding policies, and updating policies in a consistent way. Overall, these abstractions make it dramatically easier for programmers to write and reason about SDN applications.