Basic distributed switching

The basic distributed switching in OpenDaylight is provided by the L2Switch project, proving layer 2 switch functionality. This project is built on top of the OpenFlowPlugin project, as it uses its capabilities to connect and interact with an OpenFlow switch.

The L2Switch project has the following features/components:

• Packet handler: Decodes the incoming packets, and dispatches them appropriately. It defines a packet lifecycle in three stages:
  1. Decode
  2. Modify
  3. Transmit
• Loop remover: Detects loops in the network and removes them.
• Arp handler: Handles ARP packets provided by the packet handler.
• Address tracker: Gathers MAC and IP addresses from network entities.
• Host tracker: Tracks hosts' locations in the network.
• L2Switch main: Installs flows on the switches present in the network.