README.md

Project Description

The project Beachhead has the goal to design, implement, and test a minimalist network controller that is able to provision, to manange and to control networks based on Ethernet, Internet Protocol and optical WAN (in descending order of priority).

We use the term network controller, as the outcome does not have to be a SDN controller per se. Such a network controller may be used in settings where there is no SDN protocol used, but just other tools to handle networks. For instance, it may be completely possible to run a network solely with some traffic sniffing, a database to keep track of hosts etc, and an ssh interface to some network elements to get things handled.

NB: The term "handled" is used to convey the meaning of provisioning, managing, and controlling networks and network elements.

Why is it Project Beachhead

There is already a number of different network controllers, some of them labelled Software Defined Network (SDN) or Intent Based Networking (IBN), that are being developed and potentially used in production environments. However, in "our" experience such controllers are either outdated, as they are not maintained anymore, or overly complex in maintaining and operating.

Nonetheless, the impression in the telecommunications market, at least in Germany, is that the SDN approach has been filled with "life" by the existing SDN controller implementations. Thus not leaving space for other alternative SDN or in general network controllers. The beaches are full.

This project has the intent to create a new network controller and bringing it to the shores of network (AKA the beaches). Thus the intention is to create a Beachhead.