How do I choose the right SDN controller for my network?

Awesome SDN lists controllers like ONOS, OpenDaylight, and Ryu, but you'll need to evaluate based on factors like scalability and language support. Check project documentation and community forums for benchmarks, as this list doesn't provide comparisons.

What are the best SDN simulators for learning?

Mininet is popular for beginners due to its ease of use, while ns-3 offers more realism for research. The list includes these and others like Containernet, but you should test them based on your specific needs, such as emulation scale or protocol support.

P4 or OpenFlow: which protocol should I focus on?

OpenFlow is older and widely used for SDN control, while P4 is newer for programming data planes. The list covers both, but consider OpenFlow for compatibility with existing tools and P4 for flexibility in packet processing, as highlighted in their descriptions.

How to set up an SDN lab with Open vSwitch?

Awesome SDN links to Open vSwitch but doesn't provide setup guides. Refer to official documentation for installation, and use simulators like Mininet from the list for testing, as it integrates well with OVS for virtual networks.

Can I contribute to the Awesome SDN list?

Yes, it's open-source on GitHub; you can submit pull requests to add or update resources. Check the repository for contribution guidelines, as it follows the awesome-list philosophy to maintain quality through community input.

What books are recommended for mastering SDN?

The list includes books like 'SDN: Software Defined Networks' and 'Network Programmability and Automation'. Start with these for foundational knowledge, but supplement with recent papers from the Resources section for updates on trends.

Open-Awesome

Software-Defined Networking

MIT

A curated list of software, libraries, tools, and resources for Software-Defined Networking (SDN).

GitHub

1.6k stars220 forks0 contributors

What is Software-Defined Networking?

Awesome SDN is a curated GitHub repository that compiles software, tools, libraries, and resources related to Software-Defined Networking. It serves as a directory for developers and network engineers to discover SDN technologies, from controllers and simulators to protocols and learning materials. The list is organized into categories like Network Operating Systems, Controllers, and Simulators to facilitate exploration.

Target Audience

Network engineers, SDN researchers, developers building network automation tools, and students learning about software-defined networking who need a centralized reference for tools and resources.

Value Proposition

It saves time by aggregating and categorizing the fragmented SDN ecosystem into a single, community-maintained list, ensuring users can quickly find relevant projects and avoid missing key technologies.

Overview

A awesome list about Software Defined Network (SDN)

Use Cases

Best For

Finding open-source SDN controllers like ONOS or OpenDaylight
Discovering network simulators and emulators like Mininet or ns-3
Learning about SDN programming languages like P4 or Frenetic
Exploring software switches and virtual networking tools
Researching SDN protocols and standards (e.g., OpenFlow, OVSDB)
Locating books, papers, and tutorials for SDN education

Not Ideal For

Projects needing real-time comparisons or benchmarks to choose between SDN tools
Teams seeking integrated, turnkey SDN platforms with built-in support
Developers looking for step-by-step implementation tutorials or code examples
Organizations requiring vendor-specific or commercial SDN product evaluations

Pros & Cons

Pros

Broad Resource Coverage

Lists over 50 projects across 20+ categories from Network Operating Systems to Analytics, including both foundational tools like OpenFlow and emerging ones like P4, as shown in the detailed README sections.

Structured Categorization

Organizes resources into logical groups such as Controller, Simulator, and Language, making it easy to navigate specific SDN domains without sifting through unstructured data.

Community-Driven Maintenance

Built as an open-source awesome list with a Travis CI build status badge, encouraging contributions and updates to keep the list relevant, as noted in the philosophy section.

Included Learning Materials

Provides a Resources section with books, papers, and articles, aiding deeper study beyond tool discovery, such as SDN books and research papers linked in the README.

Cons

No Quality or Suitability Guidance

Merely lists projects with brief descriptions but lacks ratings, comparisons, or recommendations, leaving users to independently research which tools fit their use cases.

Risk of Stale or Broken Links

As a static list, some entries may become outdated over time despite community updates, and the README doesn't include versioning or deprecation notices for older projects.

Limited Practical Implementation Help

Focuses on resource aggregation without offering installation guides, troubleshooting tips, or integration examples, which can hinder beginners from applying the tools effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

PCAPTools

A collection of tools developed by other researchers in the Computer Science area to process network traces. All the right reserved for the original authors.

Stars3,409

Forks480

Last commit10 months ago

Real-Time Communications

:satellite: A curated list of awesome Real Time Communications resources

Stars490

Forks44

Last commit2 months ago

SNMP

A curated list of awesome SNMP libraries, tools, and other resources.

Stars190

Forks12

Last commit3 months ago

Cilium

A curated list of awesome projects related to cilium

Stars98

Forks11

Last commit1 year ago

Community-curated · Updated weekly · 100% open source

Found a gem we're missing?

Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.

Submit a project Star on GitHub