Kube-OVN vs TeraFlowSDN
Kube-OVN
kubeovn.github.ioTeraFlowSDN
tfs.etsi.orgSide by side
| Figure | Kube-OVN | TeraFlowSDN |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Networking Software | 7.7 (#5) | 7.1 (#18) |
| Deployment | The documentation provides one-click installation scripts for building production-ready container networks. | The deployment guide runs TeraFlowSDN on MicroK8s Kubernetes and documents physical or virtual machine deployment. |
| Integrations | Documented integrations include Cilium, MetalLB, OpenStack, Submariner, and OVN interconnect. | The project says TeraFlowSDN can integrate with ETSI Open Source MANO and ETSI OpenSlice. |
| License | The repository identifies Apache-2.0 as the project license. | The site links TeraFlowSDN to the Apache License 2.0. |
| Limitations | The project advises against Kube-OVN for OpenShift, public-cloud managed Kubernetes, and cases requiring an all-in-one CNI, ingress, service mesh, and observability stack. | The documented ONF Transport API driver supports configuration of L0 optical links but does not support monitoring. |
| Purpose | Kube-OVN combines OVN and Open vSwitch with Kubernetes to provide cloud-native network orchestration. | TeraFlowSDN is an open-source, cloud-native SDN controller for smart connectivity services in networks beyond 5G. |
| Security | The project accepts vulnerability reports by email and says a maintainer will acknowledge receipt within three days. | The site describes AI and ML-based security and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy as areas the project toolbox supports experimentation in. |
| Support | The project links to Slack for community discussion and Alauda for support. | The project directs users who encounter deployment issues to contact its SDG team through Slack, and lists [email protected] for help. |
Plans
In their own words
Kube-OVN
Kube-OVN combines OVN and Open vSwitch with Kubernetes for cloud-native network orchestration. Its documented features include subnet management, static IP allocation, gateways, hybrid underlay and overlay networks, VPC features, QoS, ACLs, and traffic mirroring. VPC networks provide tenants with separate address spaces and networking resources. The project recommends it for Kubernetes environments needing KubeVirt support or multi-tenant networking; KubeVirt virtual machines can live-migrate without network interruption. Documented integrations include Cilium, MetalLB, OpenStack, Submariner, and OVN interconnect. With Cilium chaining, Kube-OVN network abstractions can be used with Cilium eBPF monitoring and security capabilities. The project runs on x86_64 and arm64, and its documentation provides one-click installation scripts. It is free under Apache-2.0, deployed on-premises, and uses a centralized control plane. The project advises against it for OpenShift, public-cloud managed Kubernetes, and cases requiring an all-in-one CNI, ingress, service mesh, and observability stack.
TeraFlowSDN
TeraFlowSDN is an open-source, cloud-native software-defined networking controller for smart connectivity services and networks beyond 5G. Its microservices architecture orchestrates and controls networks end to end. The toolbox supports experiments in flow aggregation, network-equipment integration, AI and machine-learning security, and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy. Southbound drivers cover NetConf/OpenConfig, gNMI/OpenConfig, ONF Transport API, P4, IETF L2VPN and ACTN, optical interfaces, microwave, and related protocols. Northbound connectors include the TFS API, bandwidth management, L2VPN and L3VPN service delivery, topology, and network slices. The API exposes gRPC methods for contexts, topologies, devices, links, services, slices, connections, and policies. Release 7 highlights P4 integration and optical-network automation with telemetry, KPI management, analytics, and self-healing. Deployment is on-premises through MicroK8s on Ubuntu Server, with a documented minimum of 4 CPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 60 GB disk, and one 1 GbE NIC. It is licensed under Apache 2.0 and free to use.