ORBIT provides HTTP request API abstraction to controlling the configuration of the top switch. The service implementing this API can be accessed by an experimenter from within the SB9 network, including the console and experiment nodes, at the following address:

http://nox.orbit-lab.rutgers.edu:5052/network
Or simply as:
http://nox:5052/network

That base URL renders an XML response detailing all requests implemented by the service. Parameter values, such as to address a particular port (port #) on a particular switch (switch IP address), be passed as URL arguments in the HTTP request. For example, to retrieve the details of particular port (say 5) on the top switch (IP=10.19.0.253), the requested URL is:

Switch Control Service

http://nox:5052/network/portStat?switch=10.19.0.253&port=5

The service supports the following main features for the native mode (refer to XML response from the base URL for complete list and API specification):

1. Getting/setting the VLAN ID on any port(s)
2. Assigning two or more VLAN IDs on a port, making it a trunk
3. Getting per port statistics (in, out packet counts) and configuration (VLAN) information
4. Enabling/disabling a port
5. Turning on/off default switch topology protocols - Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
6. Saving the per-port configuration of the entire switch
7. Restoring switch configuration to prior saved version

In addition, it supports the following requests to support the OpenFlow mode:

1. Change the mode of the switch from native to OpenFlow mode (and vice versa)
2. Set the OpenFlow mode parameters including: control port, controller IP, switch ID (dpid), and the transport mode for secure channel