What is a function of a southbound API?

The correct answer is C. Manage flow control between an SDN controller and a switching fabric. In SDN, the southbound interface is the OpenFlow (or alternative) protocol specification. Its main function is to enable communication between the SDN controller and the network nodes (both physical and virtual switches and routers) so that the router can discover network topolog

Submitted by zhang_li· Mar 5, 2026Automation and Programmability

Question

Options

AUse orchestration to provision a virtual server configuration from a web server
BAutomate configuration changes between a server and a switching fabric
CManage flow control between an SDN controller and a switching fabric
DFacilitate the information exchange between an SDN controller and application

How the community answered

(42 responses)

B
2% (1)
C
93% (39)
D
5% (2)

Explanation

In SDN, the southbound interface is the OpenFlow (or alternative) protocol specification. Its main function is to enable communication between the SDN controller and the network nodes (both physical and virtual switches and routers) so that the router can discover network topology, define network flows and implement requests relayed to it via northbound APIs. The northbound interface describes the area of protocol-supported communication between the controller and applications or higher layer control programs.

Topics

#SDN southbound API#Network programmability#SDN controller#Flow control

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