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I was poring over the docs for Open DayLight, and can't seem to wrap my head around what software-defined networking even is. All the media hype, blogs and articles I can find on SDN are riddled with buzzwords that don't mean anything to me as an engineer. So I ask: What (exactly) is SDN? What are some specific uses cases/problems it solves? Is it:
BONUS: How does Open DayLight fit into this equation here?
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Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an approach to networking that uses software-based controllers or application programming interfaces (APIs) to communicate with underlying hardware infrastructure and direct traffic on a network.
SDN controller can abstract underlying physical network and allow network administrators to program virtual networks corresponding to each tenant. A real life example of a place where network virtualization is used is data centres - the architecture is used to share common physical network among many customers.
Software-defined networking (SDN) describes an architecture that separates the network control plane and the forwarding plane, aiming to simplify and improve network control. IT teams are better able to rapidly adapt to changing business requirements and application needs.
The fundamental proposition of SDN is to automate network provisioning, management and control via centralized software based policy/control engines controlling network endpoints.
A typical representation of SDN architecture comprises three layers: the application layer, the control layer and the infrastructure layer. These layers communicate using northbound and southbound application programming interfaces (APIs).
SDN security defined Software-defined network security involves virtualizing security functions from the traditional hardware they tend to operate on. They enforce virtual network functions, with data and monitoring accessible through one intuitive interface.
First of all, you are right, there is not official definition from NIST or some similar standardization body and the fact that its meaning is fuzzy is exploited by marketing people.
The main point of SDN is that it allows to program network functions with APIs. In the past, networking devices like switches and routers were only configurable using a proprietary interface (be it vendor specific tools or just the CLI on the device) and there were no APIs which allow to configure OSI L2 - L3 aspects like VLANs and routes but also L6 - L7 aspects like load balancing highly dynamically. Btw. In the case of L6 - L7 functions, the term NVF = Network Virtualized Function seems to be established by now.
This is needed especially for multi tenancy capable virtualized IaaS systems. You can create new VPCs and arrange them together at will. To really isolate tenants from each other, you need to have a L2 isolation and so the same dynamics that is offered for VPCs is propagated to the networking for interconnecting them.
Conclusion: It is about your first bullet with the extension, that the APIs must not necessarily be offered by some hardware appliance, it can also be offered by some pure software implementation.
Regarding OpenDaylight: It is the OpenStack pendant for SDN. They also actively push integration with OpenStack. They say they are an "open, reference framework for programmability and control through an open source SDN and NFV solution". This means it provides (as you say) a façade for the manfold aspects of networking. They have all the big names as members which probably means they have the power to establish a de-facto standard like OpenStack did. Members benefit in that they can provide plugins, integrations and adaptations for their products so that they seamlessly integrate with OpenDayligh and you only need to care about a single standard API.
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SDN is programmable networks. Different SDN solutions provide different functions in their APIs towards the app developer.
There is a good overview of SDN for software developers here:
https://github.com/BRCDcomm/BVC/wiki/SDN-applications
The most common elements for SDN solutions are
Controller-based solutions have a clustered architectural element (the 'controller') that provides the north-bound api towards applications and an extensible set of south-bound APIs to which network devices connect. Some controllers available today are OpenDaylight, Open Network Operating System (ONOS), Juniper Open Contrail, Brocade Vyatta Controller (ODL distribution), HP VAN Controller and more.
Best rules of thumb to understand an SDN offering:
Some SDN use cases/applications:
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The concept of SDN is very simple. SDN decouples control-plane (i.e. decision making) from data-plane (the actual forwarding actions) and provides API between them (e.g. OpenFlow API).
Image source: https://www.commsbusiness.co.uk/features/software-defined-networking-sdn-explained/
With SDN architecture, network engineers no longer have to learn proprietary CLI commands for different vendors. They can focus on developing logically centralized control programs to make network global decisions and send it down to network switches (data-plane). Dumped network switches (data-plane) received controller rules/decisions and process network packets accordingly if no decision found they ask the controller.
For example: In SDN architecture routing algorithms developed as a program in the controller, it collects all required metadata (e.g. switches, ports, host connections, links, speed, etc) from the network then make a routing decision for each switch in the network. While in a conventional network, a routing algorithm is implemented in a distributed fashion in all switches (i.e. generally each switch has its own intelligence and makes its own routing decision).
SDN explained by Nick Feamster
Here is a good paper that illustrates the road map to SDN
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