Open Networking Research Center (ONRC)

Open Networking Research Center (ONRC) is an academic research organization focused on Software Defined Networking (SDN) and open, programmable network architectures for carriers, cloud providers, and large-scale enterprises.

• Research and reference architectures for SDN and Network Virtualization (NV) (network infrastructure)
• Open, programmable control planes and network operating models for service providers and data centers (network automation)
• Collaboration with academia and industry on open standards, protocols, and interoperable SDN ecosystems (network standards and interoperability)
• Prototype platforms, tools, and experimental testbeds for evaluating SDN and open networking concepts (R&D infrastructure)
• Publications, technical reports, and educational materials on SDN architectures, network programmability, and controller design (technical education and knowledge resources)

More About Open Networking Research Center (ONRC)

Open Networking Research Center (ONRC) operates as an academic and industry-collaborative research hub focused on SDN, NV, and open, programmable network architectures that target carrier, cloud, campus, and enterprise environments. Its work is typically used as a reference by network architects, researchers, and infrastructure planners evaluating SDN-based control planes and open network designs.

ONRC is associated with research on decoupling the network control plane from the data plane, a core SDN concept, and on enabling logically centralized control of distributed forwarding elements. This orientation places ONRC within enterprise IT categories such as network infrastructure, network automation, and network orchestration, where SDN controllers, programmable switches, and virtualized network functions are evaluated for use in production or test environments.

The center’s publications, design documents, and architectural blueprints focus on SDN controller architectures, scalable control-plane design, and open northbound and southbound interfaces in multi-domain environments. Work typically references protocols and frameworks common in SDN ecosystems, such as OpenFlow (network protocol) for switch control, and controller frameworks that expose APIs for application-driven network behavior. These outputs support network operators and researchers in assessing how policy, Traffic Engineering (TE), and security functions can be expressed through programmable control logic rather than device-specific configuration.

ONRC also supports experimental platforms and testbeds that allow evaluation of SDN and open networking concepts at carrier and data center scale. Such environments provide a setting for validating controller performance, failover strategies, multi-tenant isolation, and interoperation with existing IP/MPLS infrastructures. For enterprises and service providers, this research context helps frame how SDN-based designs may coexist with or replace traditional network management, and how open interfaces can reduce dependency on proprietary configuration models.

In a directory or marketplace taxonomy, ONRC maps to categories such as SDN research, open networking architectures, network programmability, and network automation frameworks. Its content is geared toward technical stakeholders—network engineers, systems architects, and researchers—who require detailed analysis of SDN control architectures, protocol interactions, and deployment models. Through openly accessible research outputs and reference designs, ONRC contributes material that organizations can use when assessing programmable network strategies, open-standard control planes, and the suitability of SDN frameworks for carrier, cloud, and enterprise environments.