Software-defined networking (SDN) is an approach to making network behavior programmable through software. It separates the logic that decides how traffic should be handled from the devices that forward packets, so software can configure and change network behavior through interfaces. The separation is architectural—not a requirement for one physical controller, one protocol, or one design across every network.
How does SDN work?
SDN organizes network functions into related planes. The forwarding devices still handle packets; control logic determines how they should handle them. Software and interfaces provide a way to express and apply policy across devices.
- Forwarding or data plane: Switches, routers, and other network functions process packets. That can include switching, routing, transformation, and filtering.
- Control plane: Makes decisions about packet handling and configures forwarding functions. Control may be distributed across components even when it is described as logically centralized.
- Management plane: Monitors, configures, and maintains network devices. Management is related to network operation but is not the same thing as packet-level control.
- Operational plane: Reflects device state and resources, such as interface status, ports, queues, memory, and CPU.
- Applications and services: Express policies or network functions through abstractions above the control system.
In the IRTF’s RFC 7426, these relationships are described using abstraction layers. A controller can communicate toward devices through a southbound interface, but the precise arrangement varies by architecture and network domain.
What is the difference between the control plane and data plane?
The control plane decides what should happen to traffic; the data plane carries out those decisions by handling packets. For example, a control function can determine a packet’s route or filtering treatment, while forwarding functions apply that treatment as packets move through the network.
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SDN makes this separation programmable: software can use interfaces to influence network behavior rather than relying solely on device-by-device configuration. The distinction is functional, not necessarily a split into separate physical machines. A logically centralized control model can still have distributed components.
Is OpenFlow the same as SDN?
No. SDN describes an approach to network programmability and architecture; OpenFlow is one protocol associated with that architecture. The Open Networking Foundation calls OpenFlow “the first standard communications interface defined between the control and forwarding layers of an SDN architecture” on its SDN Definition page. It is not a universal requirement for SDN.
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Other interfaces and models serve different roles. RFC 7426, for example, distinguishes OpenFlow as an SDN interface from NETCONF as a management interface. Whether an interface is useful in a particular deployment depends on its function and on the controller and devices that support it.
What can SDN enable?
The Open Networking Foundation describes SDN as a way to make networks more programmable and agile. In a compatible implementation, administrators can adjust traffic behavior across the network through software and programmatically configure, manage, secure, or optimize resources. These are capabilities, not guaranteed results: benefits depend on the interfaces, devices, operational design, and requirements involved.
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Potential use cases include dynamic network-wide traffic changes, on-demand resource allocation, self-service provisioning, virtualized networking, and cloud services. These examples describe goals for applying the architecture; they do not establish that SDN automatically reduces costs or improves security.
Open standards may reduce reliance on vendor-specific device instructions, but the SDN label alone does not guarantee vendor neutrality or interoperability. Confirm protocol and API support, device compatibility, and controller integration for the actual environment.
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What should you compare when evaluating an SDN architecture?
SDN designs can differ by network domain, so assess the implementation against the network’s requirements rather than treating SDN as one fixed product or topology.
- Control placement and resilience: Determine whether control is centralized, distributed, or a combination; check redundancy and how the network behaves if controller connectivity is lost.
- Interfaces and device support: Verify southbound protocols, APIs, and supported hardware or software versions. Do not assume OpenFlow is required or supported.
- Management and operations: Examine telemetry, configuration workflows, failure handling, and integration with existing systems. These operational functions are related to—but distinct from—forwarding decisions.
- Openness and interoperability: Validate standards support and multi-vendor operation in the intended deployment instead of inferring compatibility from a product’s SDN branding.
- Deployment scope: Account for whether the network is a data center, campus, wide-area, or service-provider environment; their requirements and suitable designs may differ.
Why SDN does not have one universal architecture
The IRTF’s RFC 7426, an informational document published in January 2015, notes that SDN is used to describe multiple approaches and that no single layer arrangement applies identically in every domain. The practical takeaway is to ask which functions are programmable, where control resides, and which interfaces connect the components—not simply whether a network is called SDN.
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The Open Networking Foundation also publishes an industry definition of SDN. Its definition emphasizes the physical separation of control and forwarding planes and a control plane that controls several devices. That is a useful architectural formulation, while RFC 7426 cautions that terminology and arrangements vary across approaches.
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