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Question

Difficulty: MediumSeparation of Control Plane and Data Plane

Match each network operational task or protocol interaction to its corresponding functional plane or architectural interface.

  • Exchanging OSPF Hello packets and constructing the Routing Information Base (RIB)Control Plane
  • Performing hardware-accelerated IP destination lookup using the Forwarding Information Base (FIB) in ASICsData Plane (Forwarding Plane)
  • Establishing a secure SSH session to modify interface configurations and hostname settingsManagement Plane
  • Transmitting flow table entries from a centralized controller to network devices via OpenFlowSouthbound API / Interface

Answer

OSPF exchange and RIB construction match the Control Plane. FIB lookup in ASICs matches the Data Plane. SSH session configuration matches the Management Plane. Controller flow table transmission via OpenFlow matches the Southbound API.
Each functional operation aligns directly with its respective architectural plane: Control Plane handles topology decision intelligence (OSPF/RIB); Data Plane handles high-speed packet transit (FIB lookups in ASICs); Management Plane handles device governance and interactive administration (SSH); and Southbound APIs bridge the controller's control decisions to the physical hardware (OpenFlow).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze routing protocol message exchange and table building.
Identified as Control Plane activity, as it makes routing decision intelligence available before packets are forwarded.
Routing protocols run in software on the CPU to dynamically discover neighbors and compute topology paths.
2
Analyze high-speed destination lookup and encapsulation.
Identified as Data Plane activity.
Transit traffic forwarding uses hardware mechanisms (ASICs/TCAM) to process incoming packets quickly.
3
Analyze device access and administrative configuration.
Identified as Management Plane activity.
SSH provides interactive administrative oversight and device configuration capabilities.
4
Analyze SDN controller-to-switch protocol communication.
Identified as Southbound API interface.
Southbound APIs facilitate the control-to-data plane separation by allowing centralized software controllers to program physical network switches.

Key Concept

Functional Separation of Control, Data, and Management Planes in Traditional and SDN Architectures
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Separation of Control Plane and Data Plane

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