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Python Network Programming

You're reading from   Python Network Programming Conquer all your networking challenges with the powerful Python language

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Product type Course
Published in Jan 2019
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781788835466
Length 776 pages
Edition 1st Edition
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Concepts
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Authors (4):
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Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker
Author Profile Icon Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker
Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker
Eric Chou Eric Chou
Author Profile Icon Eric Chou
Eric Chou
Abhishek Ratan Abhishek Ratan
Author Profile Icon Abhishek Ratan
Abhishek Ratan
Pradeeban Kathiravelu Pradeeban Kathiravelu
Author Profile Icon Pradeeban Kathiravelu
Pradeeban Kathiravelu
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Table of Contents (30) Chapters Close

Title Page
Copyright
About Packt
Contributors
Preface
1. Fundamental Concepts FREE CHAPTER 2. Python for Network Engineers 3. Continuous Integration for Network Engineers 4. SDN Concepts in Network Automation 5. Low-Level Network Device Interactions 6. APIs and Intent-Driven Networking 7. The Python Automation Framework – Ansible Basics 8. The Python Automation Framework – Beyond Basics 9. AWS Cloud Networking 10. Working with Git 11. Sockets, IPv4, and Simple Client/Server Programming 12. Multiplexing Socket I/O for Better Performance 13. IPv6, Unix Domain Sockets, and Network Interfaces 14. Programming with HTTP for the Internet 15. Email Protocols, FTP, and CGI Programming 16. Programming Across Machine Boundaries 17. Working with Web Services – SOAP, and REST 18. Network Monitoring and Security 19. Network Modeling 20. Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) 21. Open and Proprietary Networking Solutions 22. NFV and Orchestration – A Larger Ecosystem 23. Programming the Internet 1. Other Books You May Enjoy Index

OpenFlow


OpenFlow is a communication protocol that is used for communication between different vendor's equipment for the packet flow. This standard is maintained by a group called Open Network Foundation (ONF). OpenFlow, as the name suggests, is used to control the flow of packets in a network layer through a mix of Access Control Lists (ACLs) and routing protocols.

OpenFlow primarily has two components—controllers and switches. Controllers are used to take decisions in terms of creating a path for the packet to flow across the different connected devices, and switches (or network equipment) are dynamically configured from the controller based upon the path that a packet needs to take.

Going a little more in-depth, OpenFlow controllers control the routing of packets in OpenFlow switch forwarding tables through the modification, addition, or deletion of packet matching rules as decided by the controller.

As OpenFlow is another protocol, it runs over TCP and works on port 6653 on controllers. At the time of writing, OpenFlow standard 1.4 is currently active and being widely used in the SDN framework. OpenFlow is an additional service that proprietary network vendors run alongside their custom software. This, in general, ensures that the data forwarding or data packet handling is still part of proprietary switch, but the data flow or control plane tasks is now taken over by OpenFlow controllers. As part of SDN framework, if a participating switch receives a packet and does not know where to send it, it communicates with the OpenFlow controller for an answer. The controller, based upon its preconfigured logic, decides what action to take for that unknown packet and can get switches that it is controlling to create a separate or a specific path for that packet to flow across the network. Because of this behavior, this is the protocol that is currently being deployed across all deployments where SDN is being introduced.

You have been reading a chapter from
Python Network Programming
Published in: Jan 2019
Publisher: Packt
ISBN-13: 9781788835466
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