OpenStack Neutron (Nova Network): Managing Cloud Networking

The Nova network service, known as Neutron, manages networking for all instances in an OpenStack cloud. It provides standard connectivity between instances and external networks, plus advanced features: VPNs, firewalls, load balancing.

Key components:

• Neutron Server: Central manager for networks, subnets, ports.
• Neutron Agents (on compute nodes): L3 agent (routing/IP management), DHCP agent, Metadata agent.
• Networking Plugins: Linux Bridge, Open vSwitch, VMware NSX for specific implementations.

Core concepts: Network (logical group), Subnet (IP range), Port (instance attachment point), Security Group (traffic rules).

The Neutron API (via OpenStack CLI) controls these resources.