When Cisco announced the acquisition of Insieme in Nov. 2013, Cisco revealed its long-awaited Software Defined Network (SDN) strategy; Application Centric Infrastructure (or ACI).
ACI is essentially a “policy-driven” network. Network policies are defined by the network administrator, and the network implements those policies.
Introduction to SDN
(This entry is scheduled to be published on our corporate newsletter, the Datatrend Insider. A link will be added here when it is published)
As a new and emerging technology, Software Defined Networking (SDN) is somewhat difficult to define. Ask 10 different people what SDN means, and you are likely to receive 10 different answers. (Does this remind you of the term “Cloud” in its early days?)
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Generally speaking, SDN is the ability to utilize an application framework (software) function to control the movement of network traffic through the entire network. More specifically, the idea is to separate the control plane (decision making, “brains”) of a network device, from the data plane (data movement, “braun”), and then to centralize the control plane of multiple devices under a single control point. This single control point can then be a part of a higher-level management or orchestration framework, which allows for a more holistic view of the entire infrastructure.
Other terms that may be used in congestion with SDN; abstraction, OpenFlow, OpenDaylight, Controller. Application Programming Interface
Open Networking foundation