Skip to main content
Unit of study_

ELEC5517: Software Defined Networks

2025 unit information

This unit of study will introduce an emerging networking paradigm- Software Defined Networks (SDNs). By separating the control logics from the physical networks, the software defined networks allow an automated and programmable software program to logically control and manage the network. This unit introduces the basic principles of software defined networks, its architecture, abstraction, SDN programming, programmable control plane and data plane protocols, network update, network virtualisation, traffic management as well as its applications and implementations. Student will learn and practice SDN programming, testing and debugging on SDNs platforms through experiments and group projects. It is assumed that the students have some knowledge on data communications and networks.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Engineering

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
None
Assumed knowledge:
? 
ELEC3506 or ELEC9506

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. work collaboratively in a team with productive progress management and tasks assignment
  • LO2. write professional project reports and present the project in class
  • LO3. investigate new technologies by intensive literature review
  • LO4. develop an in-depth knowledge of SDN concept, system architecture, issues in practice
  • LO5. understand SDN technologies and structure of SDN systems, and design a prototype system in the project
  • LO6. use popular tools to model and implement an SDN system.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Find your current year census dates

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.