Network Service Innovation with SDN and OpenFlow

Getting Started with SDN and OpenFlow

SDN represents not so much a leap of faith as an enhancement of the existing network. Here are some ideas about getting started:

• Identify a pain point – Start by identifying a key pain point in networking that you’d like to address with SDN. For example, you might want to improve campus security, or improve the performance of collaborative tools, or streamline your data center. Specific tasks in these areas include adding a network tap, increasing the speed of a LAN link, or reassigning VLANs.

• Think through the metrics for success – The POC involves setting up an SDN test bed and determining if the SDN solution can deliver the benefits you’re expecting. For sake of argument, let’s pick an SDN network tap as the application. The idea here is to be able to turn on tapping functionality on any SDN-enabled port, thereby not having to use parallel fixed infrastructure providing tapping functionality. Here the POC could explore the overall cost of the gear (CapEx) and the cost for training in both non-SDN and SDN paradigms (OpEx).
  

• Look at whether SDN gives you all the functionality or just a subset –  Once you have the technical details, you can make an informed decision.Expand the POC – Once the POC is carried out, it can be expanded into a trial by extending the POC to a functional area of network operations.

Major service providers like AT&T and Verizon are already adopting SDN technologies into their networks to gain the service agility and OpEx reductions they need to remain competitive. While they will continue to use Layer 2-Layer 3 networking for basic connectivity, these and other providers will use SDN and OpenFlow for the new customized services of the future.