OpenDaylight is the most widely deployed open source SDN controller on the planet. Model-driven, modular, and highly extensible, it provides centralized, programmable control and monitoring for networks of any size and scale.
OpenDaylight sits between your applications and your network hardware, providing a unified abstraction layer. A model-driven architecture built on YANG means every interface is programmatic, every behavior is predictable.
Every network service, protocol plugin, and application interface in OpenDaylight is defined through YANG models. This means auto-generated REST APIs, consistent data stores, and a single source of truth for how your network behaves.
Explore YANG tools →OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP, OVSDB, LISP, SNMP, and more. OpenDaylight's southbound plugin architecture lets you manage heterogeneous networks through a single control point without vendor lock-in.
See supported protocols →Built-in clustering, sharded data stores, and leader-based consensus let OpenDaylight scale horizontally across nodes. Production deployments manage thousands of network devices with sub-second convergence.
Read the architecture →OpenDaylight's modular design separates applications from protocols through a service abstraction layer (MD-SAL). Northbound REST APIs expose network state to applications, while southbound plugins translate intent into device-level operations.
Read the docsOpenDaylight is composed of over 50 projects covering protocol plugins, data models, core infrastructure, and applications. Here are some of the most active and widely adopted.
From optical transport to data center fabrics to carrier-scale automation, OpenDaylight powers production networks across use cases that demand programmability, scale, and vendor neutrality.
OpenDaylight's TransportPCE project enables optical path provisioning across multi-vendor transport networks using OpenROADM device models, automating L0/L1 operations at scale.
Carriers use BGPCEP and NETCONF to automate traffic engineering, path computation, and device configuration across large-scale MPLS and segment routing networks.
Programmable overlay and underlay management using OpenFlow and OVSDB for data center switching fabrics, enabling microsegmentation and automated provisioning.
Vanadium's native gNMI support enables push-based telemetry from modern fabrics like SONiC, feeding real-time network state into AI/ML pipelines for anomaly detection and autonomous operations.
Centralized, model-driven management of heterogeneous enterprise networks. ODL's protocol-agnostic architecture handles switches, routers, and firewalls from any vendor through a single pane.
OpenDaylight serves as the SDN controller within ONAP's network automation platform, providing NETCONF-based device management and service orchestration for telecom workloads.
Each OpenDaylight release is named after a chemical element. From Hydrogen to Chromium, each release brings improved scalability, security, and protocol support.
The 23rd named OpenDaylight release. Vanadium introduces native gNMI support for modern network fabrics, transitions to Java 21 with Linux-native networking optimizations, and continues the evolution toward a cleaner, more modular codebase.
Production-proven prior release with full security patches. Includes the mature MD-SAL data store, NETCONF scalability improvements, and a stable Karaf distribution for deployments not yet ready to upgrade.
Whether you are evaluating OpenDaylight for the first time or deploying it in production, the process starts the same way. Pre-built binaries and Docker images make setup fast.
Ensure you have Java 21 (or later) installed. OpenDaylight runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
java -version
Grab the latest Vanadium release as a tar.gz or zip archive from the downloads page.
wget https://nexus.opendaylight.org/content/repositories/opendaylight.release/org/opendaylight/integration/karaf/0.23.1/karaf-0.23.1.tar.gz
Extract and start the Karaf container. The ODL controller will boot and listen for feature installs.
tar xf karaf-0.23.1.tar.gz
cd karaf-0.23.1
./bin/karaf
Install the features you need. RESTCONF for REST APIs, NETCONF for device management, etc.
feature:install odl-restconf-all
feature:install odl-netconf-topology
Organizations worldwide rely on OpenDaylight to power their production networks. Here is what the community says about building on the platform.
OpenDaylight thrives because of its contributors. Whether you file an issue, review a patch, or maintain a project, you are part of the story.
All development happens in the open on Gerrit (primary) with mirrors on GitHub. Submit patches, review code, and track changes across 108 repositories.
View repositories →The community has moved to Zulip for real-time discussion. Find project-specific streams, ask questions, and participate in design discussions.
Join the conversation →Project documentation, meeting notes, and governance information live on the Confluence wiki. Weekly TSC calls are open to everyone.
Browse the wiki →A Technical Steering Committee guides the project's direction. Meetings, decisions, and election records are all public and documented.
View TSC page →Comprehensive documentation covers getting started guides, developer tutorials, project-level guides, and release notes for every named release.
Read the docs →The TSC, developer, and announcement lists on Groups.io keep the community connected. Subscribe to stay current on releases, decisions, and discussions.
Subscribe →The TSC oversees design and development activities, sets release quality standards, mediates technical conflicts, and organizes inter-project collaboration across the OpenDaylight ecosystem.
The TSC is responsible for simultaneous release dates, release quality standards, technical best practices, monitoring technical progress, and serving as OpenDaylight's liaison with other consortiums and groups.
TSC meetings are held weekly on Thursdays at 09:00 Pacific / 16:00 UTC. All meetings are open to the community and minutes are published on the wiki.
Join via Zoom: Register/Join Here
Elections for Committer-At-Large seats are held annually. All OpenDaylight committers and Active Community Members can nominate themselves, run for election, and vote.
Subscribe to OpenDaylight mailing lists for project updates, release announcements, and community discussion.
Release announcements, security advisories, and project-wide news.
Subscribe →Technical Steering Committee meeting agendas, minutes, and governance updates.
Subscribe →Cross-project technical discussion, questions, and community collaboration.
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