Week 1

Welcome to Software Defined Networking. Please follow the course materials below, which are
sequenced as lessons within each module. There will be several short video lectures accompanied by
short activities for each lesson.

Course Overview

Time: 2 hours

Difficulty Level: Easy

Requirements: Watch lesson videos, complete pre-assessment quiz to determine readiness for
course.

Learning Objectives:

Identify if this course material is applicable. ("Why am I taking this course?", "How will it benefit
me?")
Identify whether you have the necessary prerequisites.
Determine how much time commitment each module will require.

Checklist to complete Overview:

Watch the following two videos:

Overview Part 1: Preparing for SDN [5 mins].
Overview Part 2: Course Overview: Background, and what you will learn in this course [5
mins].
Complete optional pre-assessment quiz. This is not a graded activity.
Optionally write a simple client-server program in Python (you should be able to demonstrate this
basic level of proficiency with Python and networking to do well in this course. If you find this
difficult try taking the introductory course on Computer Networks. This is not a graded activity.

Module 1: History and Evolution of Software Defined

 Networking

Time: 5 hours

Difficulty Level: Easy

Requirements: Watch lesson videos, and complete module 1 quiz.

Learning Objectives:
Review the timeline of software defined networks from the 1980s to present time.
Raise awareness about the genesis of various ideas and principles, and why we have these
principles in the first place.
Recognize architectural themes in computer networking where the SDN principles came from.
(Why? Because the specific technologies may evolve, but the principles are in some sense
timeless or at least have been recognized as “best practice”).

Checklist to complete Module 1:

Watch the following lectures on enabling technologies:
Module 1.1: Central Control [6 minutes].
Module 1.2: Programmable Networks [12 minutes].
Module 1.3: Network Virtualization [12 minutes].
Watch the following lecture on control plane evolution:
Module 1.4: Control Plane Evolution [9:19 minutes].
Complete Module 1 Quiz (short 5 questions quiz. You will be allowed 3 attempts to
complete the quiz. The quiz will be open till August 5, 2013. This is a graded quiz and
you are required to get at minimum of 70%

Interviews

Interview with Martin Casado, Founder of Nicira Networks (recently acquired by VMWare). Topics
discussed:

Evolution of Software Defined Networking

Relationship of network virtualization to SDN
Myths and misunderstandings of Software Defined Networking
The future of SDN: challenges and opportunities

Support Resources

Caesar, Matthew, et al. "Design and implementation of a routing control platform." Proceedings of
the 2nd conference on Symposium on Networked Systems Design & Implementation-Volume 2.
USENIX Association, 2005.
Feamster, Nick, Lixin Gao, and Jennifer Rexford. "How to lease the Internet in your spare time."
ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review 37.1 (2007): 61-64.
Bavier, Andy, et al. "In VINI veritas: realistic and controlled network experimentation." ACM
SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review. Vol. 36. No. 4. ACM, 2006.
 van der Merwe, Jacobus E., et al. "The tempest-a practical framework for network
programmability." Network, IEEE 12.3 (1998): 20-28.
Tennenhouse, David L., et al. "A survey of active network research." Communications Magazine,
IEEE 35.1 (1997): 80-86.

Key Definitions

Software Defined Networking (SDN): A new networking paradigm whereby the behavior of a
network is controlled by a single high-level software program. The general term for network
architectures whereby the control plane (software that controls network behavior) and the data
plane (the devices that forward traffic) are separate from one another.
Control plane: The functions in the network that control the behavior of the network (e.g.,
network paths, forwarding behavior). Typically, the control plane is instantiated as a single, high-
level software controller.
Data plane: The functions in the network that are responsible for forwarding (or not forwarding)
traffic. Typically, the data plane is instantiated as forwarding tables in routers, switches, firewalls,
and middleboxes.
Active networks: A collection of network architecture projects in the 1990s that shared many of
the same goals as software-defined networking.
Network virtualization: The notion of instantiating many distinct logical networks on top of a
single, shared physical network infrastructure.

Created Wed 5 Dec 2012 4:33 PM EST (UTC -0500)

Last Modified Wed 7 Aug 2013 9:25 AM EDT (UTC -0400)