What is the primary responsibility of the management plane?

The management plane is primarily responsible for configuration and monitoring within a network. This layer handles tasks such as device configuration, software management, network monitoring, and logging. It provides the necessary interfaces and tools to ensure network administrators can oversee and manage the devices within the network effectively.

While forwarding traffic pertains to the data plane's function, which is focused on handling actual data packets based on the decisions made by the control plane, the management plane's role is distinct in that it centers on ensuring the network operates smoothly through configuration changes and performance monitoring. This makes it essential for maintaining the overall health and efficiency of the network.

OpenFlow, on the other hand, is a protocol related to the control plane, enabling communications between a controller and a switch to manage flow entries effectively. Similarly, routing protocol updates fall under the control plane's responsibilities, as they are concerned with determining the most efficient paths for traffic within the network. Thus, these options do not encapsulate the core responsibilities of the management plane as configuration and monitoring do.