SDN / NFV

Software Defined Network (SDN) is a fundamental shift from conventional ways of programming switches to cater to modern data networks. SDN is based on a highly scalable and centralized network control architecture that is better suited to extremely large networks prevalent in today's enormous data centres.

As networks evolve and new services are deployed, it's crucial to apply new ways for users to provision and orchestrate network resources in real time easily. Successful implementations will result in cost reduction by automation of moving resources around faster and more reliably, and by allowing the network to respond directly to a request from an application. This enables the operators to use programmatic control (scalable) through software versus manual to create and apply these services in a way that is simple and quick.

Additionally, it enables the ability to utilize new resources from the network (user data, traffic path etc) and create new types of applications that can control policy for the network in a scalable fashion. It also allows for new network data and capabilities to be extended and applied into the aforementioned architecture, creating new ways to not only optimize existing applications but also to introduce new services or offerings that can provide better user experience or create new offerings or advanced features that could be monetized.

The power of SDN can be harnessed not only for programming the network functions and scaling those across the network infrastructure, but also for actually tying server, storage and the network together for new use cases where systems can actually interact with each other allowing for more infrastructure flexibility (Physical, virtual or hybrid).

Traffic policy control and enforcement, rerouting based on network conditions and or regulation shifts, introduction of new services are some common business cases that can be quick and cost effective to implement through SDN.

As we consider SDN, it is also important to visit Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and how this ties into the broader infrastructure and virtualization scenario. The transition from physical to virtual is one that is leading many of these changes in the industry. By tying the hardware (Physical) to software (Virtual), including network, server, and storage there's the opportunity to virtualise network services and have them orchestrated as fast as any other workload. Tie this via programmatic interfaces to the wide area network and you can absolutely guarantee seamless service delivery.

SDN together with NFV is a key architectural shift in both computing and networking. This shift marked by dynamic changes to infrastructure that enable the service provider to closely match customer demand, analytics to assist in predicting performance requirements and a set of management orchestration tools that allow network functions and applications to scale up , down and out with greater speed and less manual intervention. This change affects how we build cloud platform for applications and at the most basic level must provide the tools and techniques that allow the network to respond to changing workload requirement to include network requirement and have them satisfied. NFV is simply the addition of virtual or off-premises devices to augment traditional infrastructure. However, tying the on and off premises devices is a challenge that service provider must be aware of.

Network functions such as subscriber-management, content-optimization, security and quality of service, are typically delivered using proprietary hardware appliances embedded into the network as turn-key service-nodes. Next generation functions are being implemented as pure software instances running on standard servers - unbundled components of capacity and functionality. Location-Identity-Separation Overlays enable SDN flow-mapping to dynamically assemble these components to whole solutions by steering the right traffic in the right sequence, of mobile users, to elastic apps and functions.

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) aims to deliver any data- plane processing or control-plane function in high volume data centers or network elements to decrease operational cost and increase deployment flexibility. While Software Defined Networking (SDN) is the enabler for dynamically directing traffic flows between respective network elements.

Use network resources without worrying about where it is physically located, how much it is and how it is organized etc through network virtualization. Automate arrangements, coordination, and management of complex computer systems, middleware and services through orchestration.

Benefit of SDN / NFV implementation

Zeteon is adept at delivering efficient SDN/NFV solutions that are aimed at helping operators migrate to new technologies without risks.