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Software-defined networking (SDN) is an approach to computer networking that seeks to manage network services through decoupling the system that makes decisions about where traffic is sent (control plane) from the underlying systems that forward traffic to the selected destination (data plane).
- Complexity: Currently, to add or move devices, IT must touch multiple switches, routers, firewalls, Web authentication portals, etc. and update ACLs, VLANs, Quality of Services (QoS), and other protocol-based mechanisms using device-level management tools. Due to this complexity, today's networks are relatively static as IT seeks to minimize the risk of service disruption.
- Lack of centralized orchestration: Current networks rely on device-level management tools and manual processes. To implement a network-wide policy, IT may have to configure thousands of devices and mechanisms.
- Inability to scale: Conventional networks deal with increased demand by increasing physical infrastructure. As long as the increased demand is static, this solution works. However, increasingly, traffic patterns are incredibly dynamic and therefore unpredictable due to an increased mobility of users, more types of devices (smartphones, tablets), more online content, more cloud-based computing, and a more globally connected world (increased number of users).
SDN is purporting to address these issues by being dynamic, manageable, cost-effective, and adaptable, seeking to be suitable for the high-bandwidth, dynamic nature of today's applications. SDN architectures decouple network control and forwarding functions, enabling network control to become directly programmable and the underlying infrastructure to be abstracted from applications and network services.
A key element of the SDN architecture is the SDN controller. With an SDN controller, network intelligence is (logically) centralized and maintains a global view of the network, which appears to applications and policy engines as a single, logical switch. Extreme Networks OneController is based on a comprehensive, hardened OpenDaylight (ODL) controller that uniquely includes: network management, network access control, and application analytics. Extreme Networks comprehensive approach preserves the integrity of the open API provided by ODL while extending data center orchestration, automation, and provisioning to the entire network under a single pane of glass.