Barcelona, Spain, 25 June 2013]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, recently launched an open-source website for the Protocol-Oblivious Forwarding (POF) project at SDN World 2013, Barcelona. The open-source project is open to public at http://www.poforwarding.org. The prototype demonstrates the feasibility and capability of POF. Users can freely download and run the software, modify the source code, or develop new features. This can also be used as an experimental platform to try out novel network applications.
POF is an innovative software-defined networking (SDN) forwarding plane technology. It aims to enhance the OpenFlow specification with support for arbitrary forwarding protocols and packet formats. The open-source project provides source code and documents for POF Controller and POF Switch prototypes. The POF Controller is a BSD/Apache-licensed and Java-based OpenFlow controller. It provides a GUI for switch control and configuration. The POF Switch is a BSD-licensed and Linux C-based virtual switch.
Through this open-source initiative, Huawei wishes to spark wider interest in both the industry and academia to further advance the protocol-oblivious forwarding technology and make SDN forwarding planes more open and programmable.
“This open-source initiative is a testament to Huawei’s commitment to innovation for open SDN and future-proof evolution of networks. We believe carriers and users of networks can benefit from more flexible switches and reduce the total cost of ownership by focusing on building simpler, fit-for-purpose networks where only the required forwarding behaviors need to be programmed in each switch. Such forwarding plane evolution technologies help remove protocol dependency in forwarding devices and can ultimately enable support of any existing/customized packet-based protocols via generic instructions. We believe that openness and software-based programmability of forwarding devices can help increase the adoption of OpenFlow, particularly in the carrier space where we see a huge potential for simplification.” said Dr. Justin Joubine Dustzadeh, VP of Technology Strategy & CTO of Networks at Huawei Technologies.
During the conference, Huawei also launched its SoftCOM Business Initiatives Zoom-in (BIZ) Program at the SDN World 2013. Huawei is actively contributing to the standardization of SDN within the ONF and is partnering with operators, research institutes and other equipment vendors to help bring the open SDN vision to reality.
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date