Orange: multi field openflow based range classifier

Abstract

Configuring range based packet classification rules in network switches is crucial to all network core functionalities, such as firewalls and routing. However, OpenFlow, the leading management protocol for SDN switches, lacks the interface to configure range rules directly and only provides mask based rules, named flow entries. In this work we present, ORange, the first solution to multi dimensional range classification in OpenFlow. Our solution is based on paradigms used in state of the art non-OpenFlow classifiers and is designed in a modular fashion allowing future extensions and improvements. We consider switch space utilization as well as atomic updates functionality, and in the network context we provide flow consistency even if flows change their entrance point to the network during policy updates, a property we name cross-entrance consistency. Our scheme achieves remarkable results and is easy to deploy.