In a modern enterprise network transitioning from traditional routing to a software-defined fabric architecture, different operational tasks are assigned to distinct functional planes. Match each specific network task or protocol operation to the corresponding architectural plane responsible for executing it.
- Processing gNMI streaming telemetry and executing REST API configuration calls from an administrative platformManagement Plane
- Building the local Routing Information Base (RIB) and processing incoming OSPF Hello packets on the switch CPUDistributed (Local) Control Plane
- Performing wire-speed ASIC TCAM table lookups and handling VXLAN header encapsulation for ingress data framesData Plane (Forwarding Plane)
- Maintaining fabric-wide LISP endpoint mapping databases and dynamically pushing control policies to edge nodesCentralized Controller Control Plane
Answer
Processing gNMI/REST APIs matches Management Plane; Building local RIB and OSPF Hellos matches Distributed (Local) Control Plane; ASIC TCAM lookups and VXLAN encapsulation matches Data Plane (Forwarding Plane); Maintaining LISP mapping database matches Centralized Controller Control Plane.
Administrative monitoring and programmatic configuration interfaces (gNMI/REST APIs) reside in the Management Plane. Local routing engine tasks like OSPF neighbor maintenance and RIB construction execute within the Distributed (Local) Control Plane on the device CPU. Hardware-accelerated packet switching, TCAM lookups, and VXLAN header manipulations take place purely in the Data Plane. Centralized fabric-wide mapping databases (LISP) and policy distribution are functions of the Centralized Controller Control Plane.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Separation of Management, Local Control, Centralized Control, and Data Planes in Enterprise SDN Architectures