Design and implementation of an OpenFlow hardware abstraction layer

OpenFlow is a leading standard for Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and has already played a significant role in reshaping network infrastructures. However, a wide range of existing provider domains is still not equipped with a framework that supports wider deployment of an OpenFlow-based control plane beyond Ethernet-dominated networks. We address this gap by introducing a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) which can transform legacy network elements into OpenFlow capable devices. This paper details the functional architecture of HAL, discusses the key design aspects and explains how HAL can support a number of network device classes. In addition, this paper presents the implementation details of HAL for hardware platforms such as DOCSIS (Data over Cable Service Interface Specification) and DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) which have so far received little attention by the OpenFlow research community despite their wide real-world deployment.