This document summarizes a presentation on software defined networking (SDN). It discusses how SDN virtualizes networks in the same way server and desktops have been virtualized. SDN decouples the control plane from the data plane, allowing centralized control of network behavior and dynamic infrastructure provisioning. OpenFlow is presented as one approach to enable SDN by allowing communication between the network control and network devices. Potential benefits of SDN include flexibility, provisioning speed, improved security, efficiency and cost savings.

2. IT RoadShow, Denver, June 2014
Your Speaker
• Dave Michels
• F100 Corporate IT Leadership
• Principal Analyst TalkingPointz
• Analyst and Media
• TalkingPointz
• Founded2002
• Exclusive focus on Enterprise Communications
@DaveMichels

3. IT RoadShow, Denver, June 2014
The Familiar trend of virtualization
Servers
Desktops
Networks

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• Agility
• Isolate Applications
• Improve Disaster Recovery
• Faster Provisioning
• Reduce cost of Support
• Green
Virtualization
Server Virtualization Benefits Desktop Virtualization Benefits
• Agility
• Isolate Applications
• Improve Disaster Recovery
• Faster Provisioning
• Reduce cost of Support
• Green

5. IT RoadShow, Denver, June 2014
Network Virtualization
● Agility
● Isolate Applications
● Improve Disaster Recovery
● Faster Provisioning
● Reduce cost of support
● Green

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SDN: What is It?
● Software Defined Networking
● Commercialized from work done at Berkeley and Stanford Universities (2008)
● Decouples the logic and forward planes
● Centralizes network state and intelligence
● Network becomes an abstract resource

8. IT RoadShow, Denver, June 2014
Control vs. Data
Control Plane
• CPU intensive
• Low bandwidth
• General purpose hardware
• Can be centralized
Data Plane
• Low CPU
• High bandwidth
• Specialized hardware common
• Needs to be distributed

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OpenFlow
● Overlay New Protocols Without Disrupting Underlying Fabric
● Provides Communications Between Network Intelligence and Network Gear
● Attractive in the Data Center
o DynamicInfrastructure as a Serice
o Made Networking Behave Like Software
● The Attraction of Commodity Hardware
● One (of many) approachesto SDN

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Data Plane (hardware)
OpenFlow AgentControl Plane (software)
Controller
Network Switch
FlowTables
Match Rule Action CountersFlow Table Rules:
OpenFlow under the hood
1. Forward
2. Modify
3. Encap /
decapsulate
4. Drop, etc.

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SDN Today
● Almost every technology vendor in the networking arena now has an SDN Angle
● Highly disruptive
● Immature
● Data Center Centric
● Southbound Standards
● Northbound APIs

13. IT RoadShow, Denver, June 2014
East, West
● Creates the benefits of a Layer 2
network
● Far more efficient use of BW and
resources
● SDN could enable distributed
switches to act as routers,
firewalls, load balancers

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Data Center Impetus
● As server virtualization has increased, so has complexity of dynamic infrastructures
● Tried and True IP Routing Breaks-Down
● SDN Provides Flexibility to Set Attributes Across the Network
● SDNs are the Natural Counterpart to Server Virtualization
● The Promise of Orchestration

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Orchestration
Concerned with lifecycle management operations
• Service instantiation
• Health monitoring and repair
• Elastic scaling
• VM migration
Automation - Rather than perform manually
Openstack: Collaborative effort of developers and cloud
companies to create a single cloud operating system

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5 Key Benefits to SDNs
1. Flexibility and Holistic Management
2. Provisioning Speed and Agility
3. Improved and More Granular Security
4. Efficiency - and Lower Operating Expenses
5. Virtual Network Services, Lowered CapEx

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SDN Won’t Be Contained to DC
● Enterprise Wide Implications
● Unified Communications
o Wired/Wireless
o DynamicBW IM/Voice/Video
o Any Device: Desktop/Tablet/Mobile/xDevice
● APIs make Apps Everywhere
● 60-80% of Poor End User Experience due to Network Issues

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SDN: It’s Gonna Be Big
● 2018 Market Forecast for SDN: $35B
● CAGR: 62% over 5 Years
● 2017: 60% of Enterprises will automate the provisioning of Security Controls
● 75% of Gartner Clients Report they are Thinking About or Evaluating SDNs

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The Disruptive Element
● Traditional Approach Favors Single Vendor Solutions
● Cloud-Scale Data Centers Experimented with Open Source Controllers w/ Commodity Hardware
● Programmability of previously rigid vendor networks.
● Reduced vendor lock
● Open Source initiatives

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Open Source Initiatives
● OpenDaylight is a community-led, open, industry-supported framework under the Linux Foundation
● Project Floodlight is the Open SDN Open Source Project supported by Big Switch Networks
● Indigo is an open source project aimed at enabling vendors to support OpenFlow on physical and
hypervisor switches
● OFTest is a testing framework and test suite for OpenFlow compliance testing

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Agility in Practice
● Rapidly Create & Deploy Proof of Concept and Test Networks
● Faster Response to New Techs ie. Mobile
● Security and Compliance governed From Central Location
● Lowers Operational Spend and CapEx

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SDN is Progressive….but Immature
● Lack of standards for full device control - no Northbound API Std (to Appl Layer)
● SDN Introduces New Security Concerns
o New Risks with Centralized Controller
o API Exposure to Attack
● Think about SDN Long Term Implications

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Take-Aways
● SDN Emerging Tech of Growing Importance
● SDN Will Have Disruptive Impacts
● Will facilitate agility and reduce costs
● Early Still - Barriers to Adoption Exist
● SDN Standards Are Evolving Slowly