Software-defined networking puts an end to patchwork administration

Traditional IP networks are made up of a number of autonomous systems: switches, routers, and firewalls. The network devices evaluate incoming data packets by checking their tables and route the packets appropriately. For this to work, these systems need to be familiar with the network topology (Figure 1). The position of a particular device on the network defines its function; a change of position causes complication and reconfiguration.

Figure 1: A traditional IP network consists of physical devices that store information in tables and communicate according to defined rules.

Over time, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has given administrators a series of protocols to help spice up the simple control logic. However, these extensions typically address only a specific task and are comparatively isolated. In addition, the growing number of these standards (in conjunction with vendor-specific optimizations and software dependencies) has bloated the complexity of today's network.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subscriptions
Digital Subscriptions

Related content

  • Software-Defined Networks

    Even as the tech world works to figure out just what to do with the potential of cloud computing and big data, along comes a new bit of technology fueled by open source software: software-defined networks.

    more »
  • Software-Defined Networks

    Even as the tech world works to figure out just what to do with the potential of cloud computing and big data, along comes a new bit of technology fueled by open source software: software-defined networks.

    more »
  • OpenDaylight Project Formed

    OpenDaylight is an open source software-defined networking project committed to furthering adoption of SDN and accelerating innovation in a vendor-neutral and open environment.

    more »
  • Open Networking Foundation Formed

    “Stronger definition of network behavior in software is a growing trend, and open interfaces are going to lead to faster innovation,” said Nick McKeown, ONF Board member and professor at Stanford University.

    more »
  • Open vSwitch as Virtual Switch for VM Environments

    The Open vSwitch open source project has announced development of a sofware switch for virtual environments.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Mobile Programming Security Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source