Forwarding unit and controller unit for SDN

A method for configuring forwarding rules for data packet transmission in a software defined network (SDN) system, the SDN system including a forwarding device and a control device, the method comprising:

• identifying at least one forwarding rule and at least two activation times at which the at least one forwarding rule must be activated on at least one forwarding device;
• generating and transmitting, by the control device, a configuration message including:
• the at least one forwarding rule, and a preset time condition for activating and deactivating the at least one forwarding rule, the preset time condition including the at least two activation times of the at least one forwarding rule;
• receiving, by the forwarding device, the configuration message from the control device;
• and
• autonomously activating, by the forwarding device in the absence of receiving any control commands from the control device, the at least one forwarding rule according to the preset time condition and at any one of the at least two activation times, wherein:
• the at least one forwarding rule is activated according to the preset time condition for a predetermined period of time;
• and
• the predetermined period of time includes a time period when data packets are expected at an incoming port of the forwarding device which must be handled by the at least forwarding rule.

A forwarding device for a software defined networking (SDN) system, the forwarding device being configured to forward data packets and comprising:

• a memory module configured to store a plurality of forwarding rules including a subset of active forwarding rule(s);
• and
• a processor configured to:
• receive a single configuration message from a control device of the SDN system, the configuration message including:
• at least one forwarding rule of the plurality of forwarding rules, and a preset time condition for activating and deactivating the at least one forwarding rule;
• activate the at least one forwarding rule according to the preset time condition, wherein:
• the preset time condition comprises at least two activation times of the at least one forwarding rule;
• and
• the processor is further configured to:
• autonomously activate the at least one forwarding rule at any one of the at least two activation times and in the absence of receiving any additional configuration messages from the control device, wherein:
• the at least one forwarding rule is activated according to the preset time condition until a predefined condition occurs;
• and
• the predefined condition includes reaching a number of messages to which the at least one forwarding rule applies;
• and
• autonomously reconfigure the forwarding device to facilitate applying only active forwarding rules to incoming data packets in the absence of communication external to the forwarding device.