A data plane is an infrastructure layer that helps move data across a network in the form of packets. In many cases, the data plane works in response to operations performed via the control plane — which centrally manages infrastructure changes such as configuration updates, security policy enforcement, and node management.

The data plane is therefore responsible for forwarding data onwards from source to destination. Without the data plane as an intermediary, it'd be impossible to properly manage your infrastructure components or practice software-defined networking.

How does a data plane work? 

Despite their relationship, the data plane exists separately from the control plane. It does the following as a result: 

  • Receives and analyzes data packets

  • Forwards data to its destination

  • Ensures reliable and accurate packet delivery

  • Performs error detection and correction

  • Enables flow control and packet prioritization on busy networks

  • Adheres to routing rules and other constraints imposed by the control plane, such as those governing request frequency (for updating resources, etc.)

The data plane operates at layer 2 of the OSI model, also called the data link layer. It can either be hardware-driven or software-driven depending on your performance and scalability needs. It relies on one or more of the following internet protocols to function (aside from using HTTP for its own APIs to enable configuration):

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Does HAProxy use the data plane?

Yes! HAProxy Enterprise load balancer is the flexible data plane of our HAProxy One application delivery and security platform, providing high-performance load balancing for TCP, UDP, QUIC, and HTTP traffic, plus an API/AI gateway and multi-layered security. HAProxy ALOHA hardware and virtual load balancers offer the same data plane in appliance form, and HAProxy Fusion manages it all centrally.

Explore our load balancing solutions to learn more.