Episode 72: SDN in Operation — The Management Plane Explained
While SDN defines the separation of control and data planes, the management plane provides the interface for human administrators and automation tools to interact with the network. In this episode, we explain how the management plane fits into the SDN model, and how it provides centralized policy creation, telemetry, configuration management, and logging. We highlight tools such as SDN dashboards, REST APIs, and orchestration platforms used in real-world deployments.
We also explore how modern networks leverage this plane for visibility, compliance, and automation. You’ll see how configuration changes can be pushed across multiple devices simultaneously and how telemetry data helps monitor network health in real time. Understanding the management plane isn’t just theoretical—it’s the layer you’ll interact with most as a network administrator in an SDN environment.
