Summary

Neutron has seen major internal architectural improvements over the last few releases. These improvements have made developing and implementing network features easier for developers and operators, respectively. Neutron maintains the logical network architecture in its database, and network plugins and agents on each node are responsible for configuring virtual and physical network devices accordingly. With the introduction of the ML2 plugin, developers can spend less time implementing the core Neutron API functionality and more time developing value-added features.

Now that OpenStack Networking services have been installed across all nodes in the environment, configuration of a layer 2 networking plugin is all that remains before instances can be created.

In the next chapter, you will be guided through the configuration of the ML2 plugin and both the LinuxBridge and Open vSwitch network agents. We will also explore the differences between LinuxBridge and Open vSwitch in terms of how they function and provide connectivity to instances.