Transformation and Unified Control of Hybrid Networks Composed of OpenFlow Switches and Other Programmable Switches

An OpenFlow (OF) adaptor comprising:

• a physical OF port configured to communicate with an OF controller;
• a physical Non-OF (NOF) port configured to communicate with a NOF Network Element (NE);
• a memory configured to store a predetermined set of message relationships;
• a transmitter coupled to the OF port, and the NOF port, and configured to transmit a discovery message to the NOF NE in a NOF format;
• a receiver coupled to the OF port, and the NOF port, and configured to receive a reply message from the NOF NE in the NOF format;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory, the transmitter, the receiver, the OF port, and the NOF port, and configured to translate the reply message to an OF format based on the predetermined set of message relationships stored in the OF adaptor.