eBooks

FierceTelecom 2 1 A u gu s t 2 0 12 Software-defined networking (SDN) has become the talk of the telecom and IT world, offering a new element of control and automation for both enterprises and service providers. It allows central control of network traffic without having to go out and manually access the hardware device like a router or switch to change how much bandwidth they need for a particular site. SDN separates the control plane from the data plane. The control plane makes decisions about where traffic is sent, while the data plane forwards traffic to the selected destination. The concept has found utility in cloud-based Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as part of a consolidated data center. Likewise, in the optical networking domain, vendors such as Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Cyan and Infinera see the opportunity to plan, configure and manage through performance verification and billing. From a service provider perspective, the migration to SDN is not being driven by customers asking for SDN specifically, but by operators trying to find ways to more efficiently provision applications and services. Savvis, CenturyLink's data center and cloud subsidiary, said that its customers have applications and needs that had passed the traditional implementation timeline of a telco. In particular, Savvis thinks that SDN will help it automate functions such as conducting a cross- connect in a data center, a process that today can take up to a week to do. The benefits of SDN aren't just for large service providers, however. DukeNet, a regional fiber-based competitive provider which is conducting an internal proof-of- concept trial with Cyan, also sees value in SDN. One of the potential benefits that DukeNet sees with SDN is that it can enable its wholesale and enterprise customers to allocate bandwidth to fulfill certain events like overnight backup. In this eBook we will look at the latest developments in SDN in addition to the impact SDN will have on service providers and their ability to automate the provisioning and delivery of new services. DiamonD sponsor: golD sponsors: FierceTelecom.com M Ay 2 0 13 BY SE A N BUCK L E Y sE NIOR E dI t OR /// Fiercetelecom 3 Transport SDN is Gaining Traction, but Don't Expect an Overnight Success 6 Enabling the Telecom Cloud with Software Defined Networking *Sponsored Content* 7 SDN Takes a Transport Trip 10 The Co-Existence of Physical and Virtual Switches in SDN *Sponsored Content* 11 SDN Vendors Define Technology Differently 14 Security is Core to SDN Success *Sponsored Content* 15 Data Centers in Line for SDN…but There's No Rush 19 SDN's Potential Leads DukeNet to Proof of Concept Effort PuTTing The sPoTlighT on software defined networks

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