SDN: from a traditional network to a software-defined network

Jorge Marin, Service Delivery Manager

Anyone working in the IT department of an organization can surely identify with the need to make their business network more agile, more flexible, easier to manage, easier to scale, to optimize resources, etc.

The answer to the prayers of professionals came a few years ago with the emergence of Software Defined Networks (SDN), which are gradually replacing traditional networks.

The main new feature of SDN networks is the separation of the control and management functions from the data forwarding function of the network. This allows centralized management, while still leaving data forwarding between network elements to the network and transport layer. In other words, they use software-based controllers to direct network traffic and communicate with the hardware infrastructure.

What does this achieve? Automate and program the network faster, simplify operations, accelerate time to market for applications and services, develop programmable networks and eliminate manual configuration, and finally centralize configuration, automation, control, monitoring, service delivery and cloud automation.

With SDN, the static rules of traditional networks disappear and you can respond dynamically to the changing needs of the network, taking advantage of the full capacity of your enterprise network and, consequently, improving the user experience.

In addition, SDN technology provides greater visibility of what is happening at all times in our network and is able to define the most secure routes at all times, providing a higher level of security than other types of architectures. These networks also have tools to cover the transmission of data to the different infrastructures.

SDN technology is mainly used in the implementation of data centers and network electronics. This is good news for both data center administrators and network administrators, since software-defined networks, thanks to their automation and programmability, enable IT professionals to focus on the most value-added tasks, those that affect the core of the business they serve.