OpFlex is currently being set up as an open-source reference implementation, and Cisco is seeking to fully standardize the protocol through the IETF. The open source work for OpFlex is being done in the Linux Foundation’s OpenDaylight SDN project. Cisco is one of the leaders of the OpenDaylight project and has contributed a significant amount of code to the effort.
Cohen said that in his view, prior to OpFlex there has not been a standardized way of passing along higher-level policy in a network. He added that the OpFlex protocol is being designed in a way that makes it open and able to support any number of different devices
OpFlex is intended to be a key part of Cisco
’
s own Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) efforts. Cisco officially
ACI in November of 2013 as a new approach for enabling an agile network built for applications. OpFlex will now be able to serve as the policy protocol transport layer with an ACI infrastructure.
Going a step higher in the stack, the Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) is the policy engine for enabling ACI across the network. APIC will now be able to get policy by way of OpFlex.
Read the full story at EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet:
Cisco Opens Up SDN Policy with OpFlex
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.