Versioning

Versioning and Compatibility

Protocol Versioning

The OpenFlow Protocol follows semantic versioning (SemVer):

• Major Version: Breaking changes requiring implementation updates
• Minor Version: Backward-compatible feature additions
• Patch Version: Bug fixes and clarifications

Backward Compatibility

Version Support Policy

Implementations SHOULD support:

1. Current Version: Full support for latest protocol version
2. Previous Major: Limited support for previous major version
3. Migration Tools: Utilities to upgrade flows to newer versions
4. Deprecation Warnings: Clear warnings for deprecated features

Flow Compatibility

• Version Declaration: Flows MUST declare their protocol version
• Compatibility Checking: Executors MUST validate version compatibility
• Graceful Degradation: Handle older flows when possible
• Error Reporting: Clear errors for incompatible flows