Software defined networking applies the abstraction concepts of hardware virtualisation to networking infrastructure. This works well for cloud implementations, which need significant configuration and planning. But SDN and network virtualisation may still be too immature for prime time.
NetSocket this week shifted gears from monitoring the
quality of unified communications applications to enabling software defined
networks, with an initial focus on automating tuning in order to accommodate business
performance policies.
When getting to know software defined networking, you'll encounter a number of terms that are used in conjunction with the technology. Some of the terms are unique to SDN, while others describe technologies that, while not unique, are frequently used in SDN designs.
Software has been programming our networks for a long time, so how is SDN different?
Software defined networking (SDN) offers significant opportunities and challenges for enterprise IT professionals. SDN has the potential to make networks more flexible, reduce the time to provision the network, improve quality of service, reduce operational costs and make networks more secure.
In today's data center you need to be able to add services and hardware without compromising network performance, but the flexibility to tune the network to meet business needs is also mandatory.
VMware hopes to make the networking components of its soon-to-be-released vCloud Hybrid Service one of its biggest selling points, and in doing so the company plans to build one the largest software-defined networking (SDN) deployments in the industry.
Citing concerns over technical and market direction, Big Switch Networks has downgraded its participation in the OpenDaylight consortium, a multivendor effort to define an open source SDN framework.
Public cloud and managed hosting provider Rackspace has rolled technology from Vyatta into its services, allowing customers to set granulated network segmentation policies that dictate which users and what type of traffic have access to which hosted resources.
Software defined networking was a hot topic at the recent Interop conference in Las Vegas, where enthusiasm for the emerging technology overpowered any lingering doubts.
The combination of highly virtualised environments inside enterprise networks, along with an explosion of mobile traffic, are exposing the limitations of existing networks, and driving the need for a new era of dynamic and scalable networks of the future, IDC researchers said in a panel discussion at Interop this week.
It starts with a gathering in a warehouse in Brisbane, Calif. Vendor reps, volunteers and networking experts of all stripes meet to create an enormous temporary network using products from 23 different companies, test it within an inch of its life -- and then stuff it on to trucks drive it out to Las Vegas.
Juniper Networks this week will extend its SDN offerings with the release of its controller, roughly six months ahead of schedule.
Arista is raising the ante in high-density programmable core switching and perhaps setting the stage for things to come.
A key requirement for the success of the nascent network functions virtualization (NFV) market is the emergence of an independent software community to drive innovation in telecom software. At the recent Open Network Summit (ONS) event there was significant activity around NFV, including a number of smaller suppliers demonstrating products.