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How Will Software Defined Networks and OpenFlow Impact Enterprise Networks?

Monday, May 7, 2012 1:00 to 4:30

Jim Metzler Instructor:
Jim Metzler
Vice President,
Ashton, Metzler & Associates

Michael Fratto Instructor:
Michael Fratto
Editor,
Network Computing

One of the key underlying concepts of a software defined network (SDN) is that the switch control plane is decoupled from the data plane and placed in a separate centralized server or controller. This centralization of the control plane makes it relatively easy to programmatically control the entire network. OpenFlow is an open API/protocol that is used between a network controller and a controlled physical switch that provides the forwarding hardware.

Since Interop Las Vegas 2011 the interest in OpenFlow has been building. However, there is considerable discussion in the industry about the viability of OpenFlow in production networks. For example, does OpenFlow represent a fundamentally new way to do enterprise networking or is it primarily relevant to high end Web properties such as those run by Google and Yahoo?

Attendees at this workshop will learn:

  • The drivers and technologies behind SDN
  • The key concepts and technologies that comprise OpenFlow
  • The status of the standards that enable OpenFlow
  • The status of vendor implementations of OpenFlow
  • The impact of Openflow on switching and product choices
  • The role of OpenFlow and SDN in a high end data center
  • The role of OpenFlow and SDN in a typical enterprise data center
  • The limitations that OpenFlow and SDN have to overcome
  • The likely path that OpenFlow and SDN will take over the next year