tinyNBI: Distilling an API from essential OpenFlow abstractions

If simplicity is a key strategy for success as a network proto-col OpenFlow is not winning. At its core OpenFlow presents a simple idea, which is a network switch data plane abstrac-tion along with a control protocol for manipulating that ab-straction. The result of this idea has been far from simple: a new version released each year, five active versions, com-plex feature dependencies, unstable version negotiation, lack of state machine definition, etc. This complexity represents roadblocks for network, software, and hardware engineers. We have distilled the core abstractions present in 5 exist-ing versions of OpenFlow and refactored them into a simple API called tinyNBI. Our work does not provide high-level network abstractions (address pools, VPN maps, etc.), in-stead it focuses on providing a clean low level interface that supports the development of these higher layer abstractions. The goal of tinyNBI is to allow configuration of all exist-ing OpenFlow abstractions without having to deal with the unique personalities of each version of OpenFlow or their level of support in target switches. 1