Towards a Method for End-to-End SDN App Development

The ecosystem of software-defined networking (SDN) is still characterized by a multitude of different controller platforms, each with its own programming model, execution model, and capabilities. This creates a danger of a controller lock-in for both developers of SDN control applications and operators of SDN networks. Since no single controller platform appears to dominate the ecosystem for the foreseeable future, there is a need for a method that enables the unification of different controller technologies. This paper describes a preliminary version of the Net IDE method, whose goal is to deliver an integrated process for SDN development that allows developers to write, test and deploy applications independently from the underlying SDN technology.