Abstracting the network with SDNs

A New Nexus

© Tomasz Zajda, 123RF

© Tomasz Zajda, 123RF

Article from Issue 146/2013
Author(s):

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.

Technology these days is all about abstraction: cloud computing is basically abstracting the concept of servers, so you don't have to worry about them. Big data's non-relational databases and Hadoop clusters perform a similar level of abstraction on database administration, and software-defined networks (SDNs) aim to do the same thing with networking.

How does SDN work?

Think about a traditional network and everything that entails. You have your routers, your switchers, and lots and lots of CAT5 and CAT6 cable strung around: all physical hardware that, when connected in a certain way, defines the flow of data in your organization. Like laying down a network of highways, planning a network takes time; it has to be done right the first time because shuffling things around is expensive.

A network has to do two big things: deliver data and manage the flow of that data. If I am downloading a video from California, the network knows to get it to me here in Indiana. Shunting the data through India and Europe would not be the most efficient method – unless, of course, some big physical failure were to occur between here and the West Coast that required the signal to be sent the long way around the planet.

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