Controller based network resource management

According to embodiments of the disclosure, methods, apparatuses, and computer products for controller based network resource management are disclosed. The method may include receiving a flow at a network controller, determining a flow parameter for the flow, and determining, via the network controller, an idle timeout for a flow rule, corresponding to the flow based on the flow parameter. Determining a previous idle timeout for the flow in response to determining that the flow has been received before, and determining an activity factor for the flow rule in response to the previous idle timeout being greater than or equal to the second value. The apparatus may be a network controller including a processor, and a memory configured to receive a flow, determine a flow parameter for the flow, and determine an idle timeout for the flow rule based on the flow parameter.