Demystifying SDN: SDN via APIs
In my previous blog, I explained the basics of Software Defined Networking (SDN), how SDN has evolved to this point, the separation between the control plane and data plane, plus we named the three main flavors of SDN: Open SDN, SDN by APIs and SDN via overlays. We also covered the principles of the first approach, Open SDN. In this blog, I will cover the implementation of this technology via APIs, a preferred method used by traditional networking hardware companies. SDN implementation via APIs refers to southbound APIs that configure and program the control plane active on the device. There are a number of legacy network device APIs in use that offer different degrees of control (SNMP, CLO, TL1, RADIUS, TR-069, etc.) and a number of newer ones (NETCONF/YANG, REST, XMPP, BGP-LS, etc.) that offer different degrees of control over the network devices, data plane, topology, etc., each having different advantages and disadvantages. I won’t cover them in depth in