1. NOX is the Most Widely Used OpenFlow Controller
Proress on NOX
The NOX Team
NOX is the Most Widely Used OpenFlow Controller
Developed in C++ and provides Python bindings.
Open sourced by Nicira (
Has been used in research, production, and classroom.
Over twenty people have contributed to NOX.
Both adding features and fixing bugs.
e.g., visualization, console, messenger.
New Release of NOX
Biggest update so far.
Simplifies adding support for new OpenFlow versions.
Is C++ only: POX provides Python support.
Enables concurrent support of different OpenFlow versions.
Improves performance by an order of magnitude.
The core is simplified to only provide:
Adds a C++ OpenFlow C++ library.
Event harness, I/O handling, and plugin framework.
Introduces breaking changes, but migration is easy.
OpenFlow-related code moved to a component.
Will be made publicly available in late 2011.
NOX Performance
NOX has high throughput and low latency.
Switch app: ~1.6Mpkts/sec with <5ms latency.
(8x2GHz CPUs | 32 switches | 4096 pkts on the fly.)
Throughput and latency should be looked at together:
1.3Mpkts/sec ~ 1-2ms response time.
1.8Mpkts/sec ~ 13ms response time.
Throughput with different # of CPUs
4096 pkts on the fly, 32 switches
Response time CDF with 8 CPUs
Response time CDF with 8 CPUs for different load levels
Throughput with different # of CPUs under the same load levels
OpenFlow Support
All OpenFlow-related is moved to a component.
New OpenFlow C++ library is added.
Simplifies updating OpenFlow code in NOX.
Simple serialization code.
Easy to add support for multiple OpenFlow versions.
Easy to use (e.g., ofp_match().nw_src(“ ”).nw_dst(“ ”).tp_dst(80))
Each version lives in its own namespace.
Simpler OpenFlow events.