Improving service function proxy performance in software defined networking networks

A method implemented by a network device functioning as a Service Function Chain (SFC) proxy to cause packets in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) network to bypass the SFC proxy, where the SFC proxy is communicatively coupled to a controller in the SDN network, the method comprising:

• providing a translation rule for an SFC encapsulation to the controller;
• receiving an indication from the controller that packets belonging to a flow associated with the SFC encapsulation are to bypass the SFC proxy;
• and
• disabling timeout processing for the translation rule for the SFC encapsulation in response to receiving the indication that the packets belonging to the flow associated with the SFC encapsulation are to bypass the SFC proxy.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium having computer code stored therein, which when executed by a set of one or more processors of a network device functioning as a controller in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) network, causes the network device to perform operations for configuring a switch in the SDN network to process packets on behalf of a Service Function Chain (SFC) proxy so that packets can bypass the SFC proxy, the operations comprising:

• receiving a translation rule for an SFC encapsulation from the SFC proxy;
• transmitting SFC proxy bypass instructions to the switch that cause the switch to translate packets belonging to a flow associated with the SFC encapsulation according to the translation rule for the SFC encapsulation and to forward the packets belonging to the flow associated with the SFC encapsulation to a service function while bypassing the SFC proxy;
• and
• transmitting an indication to the SFC proxy that the packets belonging to the flow associated with the SFC encapsulation are to bypass the SFC proxy.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium having computer code stored therein, which when executed by a set of one or more processors of a network device functioning as a Service Function Chain (SFC) proxy, causes the network device to perform operations for causing packets in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) network to bypass the SFC proxy, where the SFC proxy is communicatively coupled to a controller in the SDN network, the operations comprising:

• providing a translation rule for an SFC encapsulation to the controller;
• receiving an indication from the controller that packets belonging to a flow associated with the SFC encapsulation are to bypass the SFC proxy;
• and
• disabling timeout processing for the translation rule for the SFC encapsulation in response to receiving the indication that the packets belonging to the flow associated with the SFC encapsulation are to bypass the SFC proxy.