METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROGRAMMABLE BUFFERS IN MOBILE NETWORKS

It is possible to dynamically configure buffers in network devices by sending software defined network (SDN) instructions to a Control-to-Data-Plane Interface (CDPI) agents on the network devices. An SDN instruction may instruct a CDPI agent to configure a buffer in a network device to store a specific type of traffic flow in accordance with a traffic handling policy. In some embodiments, the SDN instruction instructs the CDPI Agent to directly configure a buffer by, for example, associating a virtual port with a new/existing buffer, binding a virtual port associated with the buffer to a switch, and/or installing a flow control rule in a flow table of the switch. In other embodiments, the SDN instruction may instruct the CDPI agent to reconfigure the buffer by transitioning the buffer to a different state.