Considerations and Limitations for Configuring OpenFlow

Consider the following points when you configure OpenFlow on devices:

  • OpenFlow must be enabled globally on the device before you can enable interfaces for OpenFlow.
  • You must explicitly enable or disable OpenFlow on each interface using the CLI commands. You cannot use a range of ports to enable OpenFlow on the interface.
  • Before you can disable OpenFlow globally on the device, you must disable OpenFlow on all interfaces individually.
  • Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and other Layer 2 or Layer 3 protocols are not supported on OpenFlow-enabled ports.
  • OpenFlow supports up to four concurrent sessions with a maximum of two concurrent SSL sessions.
  • Layer 2 unicast and multicast packets are flooded in the VLAN for protected VLANs and for unprotected VLANs in the absence of flows on hybrid OpenFlow ports.
  • Local and normal actions defined by the OpenFlow v1.0.0 protocol are not supported.
  • OpenFlow is an ingress feature. The local device generates protocol messages (such as PIM and OSPF) on OpenFlow enabled-ports, if configured, but control packets according to the OpenFlow default rule. Because of this limitation, the PIM neighbor (if configured) comes up on the peer, and multicast traffic hits the OpenFlow interface in all PIM DMs. In a PIM SM, the OpenFlow port connects to an IGMP snooping-enabled LAN that has the multicast source connected.
  • On OpenFlow-enabled ports, packets that do not match any flow entry are dropped by default. The RUCKUS ICX implementation supports an option to send such packets to the OpenFlow Controller. Refer to Configuring the Default Action.
  • In OpenFlow, the untagged frames arriving on hybrid interfaces are treated as protected; that is, they are subjected to Layer 3 processing and are not subjected to OpenFlow flows.
  • On the ICX 8200 platform, Layer 3 OpenFlow flows match only IP packets. Non-IP packets, such as ARP packets, are not matched by Layer 3 flows. To process non-IP packets, configure the flows on a Layer 2 or Layer23 interface.
Parent topic: OpenFlow v1.0.0