How to use the POX class library to develop the OpenFlow controller
How to use the POX class library for OpenFlow controller to develop
POX is a controller written in an open source software for Python to develop the OpenFlow protocol.This article will introduce how to use the POX class library to develop the OpenFlow controller.
1. Install POX
First, make sure that Python and Git have been installed.Then, through the following command, the latest code of cloning in Pox's GitHub storage repulsor:
git clone https://github.com/noxrepo/pox.git
After the clon is completed, enter the POX directory in the terminal:
cd pox
2. Create OpenFlow controller
In POX, you can develop a custom OpenFlow controller by creating a Python file.First, create a file called `mycontroller.py` in the POX directory:
touch mycontroller.py
Then, open the `mycontroller.py` file with text editor (such as nano, vim, etc.), and add the code according to the following example code:
python
from pox.core import core
import pox.openflow.libopenflow_01 as of
log = core.getLogger()
class MyController(object):
def __init__(self):
core.openflow.addListeners(self)
def _handle_ConnectionUp(self, event):
log.debug("New connection: %s" % (event.connection,))
# The controller logic code is written here
def launch():
core.registerNew(MyController)
In this example, we created a class called `MyController`, which is a subclass of the POX library.In the `MyController` class, we rewritten the method of` _handle_connectionup`, which is a function that is called when the OpenFlow connection is established.In this function, you can define the logical operation of the controller, such as sending flow tables, flow modifications, group tables, etc.
3. Run the OpenFlow controller
By running the following command in the terminal, start the POX controller and load our custom controller:
./pox.py mycontroller
Now, your custom OpenFlow controller is already running on the POX platform.
Before running the POX controller, you may need to configure it to communicate with the OpenFlow switch.A common configuration method is to modify the `OpenFlow.of_01` part of the` POX.PY` file before running the pox.You can create an openflow connection as needed, specify the monitoring address and port of the controller, and configure the connection parameter of the OpenFlow switch.
I hope this article can help you understand how to use the POX class library to develop OpenFlow controller.Through POX, you can easily implement the customized OpenFlow controller and communicate and interact with the OpenFlow switch in the network.
