Not sure if this is in the right section, please move it accordingly if needed

I'm just wondering what you guys think of SDN? Software Defined Networking seems to be getting a lot of attention recently and has some of the big players (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, etc) moving forward with this solution, partially at least.

How do you think this will affect the industry? Do you feel threatened or are you actually excited? I for one, have mixed feelings, I do love learning new technologies, but I'm not sure how the learning curve will be or/if this technology will really take flight.

From experience, developers and network engineers usually bump heads "ITS THE NETWORK" "ITS THE APPLICATION". This technology seems to be exactly in between developer and network engineering realm. Is it time to hit the books for those that dont program?

Please share your thoughts


-mastarron

I was excited and amazed by it at first but it has lost its luster. It seems to have some good potential but it will be awhile, if ever, until the average network has a use-case for it.

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"See packet, be packet, you are packet. Ignore all else!" -The Networker
packetsdropped.wordpress.com

SDN is a solution in search of a problem, it needs a killer app. Big Data is supposedly one but there probably has to be a even more compelling case for most enterprises if SDN is to see mass adaptation.

http://www.networkcomputing.com/next-gen-network-tech-center/sdn-is-big-data-a-killer-app/240144595

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"It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system."

there is a pretty good SDN blog here:
http://siwdt.com
it's the only one I read anymore.

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"If you're good at anticipating the human mind. It leaves nothing to chance."
-Jigsaw

IMO the networking realm in going to look drastically different in 10 - 15 years. Data Center and "the Cloud" are the big drivers for this change. With the need for rapid/flexible deployments and virtualization integrating with network infrastructure I think SDN is going to provide some new solutions for these problems. The enterprise network will slowly follow suite but I dont think it will change as much as fast.

As for needing to be a full on developer to deploy a SDN network infrastructure, I dont see that happening. I think as a network engineer/architect you will need to have a deeper knowledge of virtualization as the lines will blur between physical and virtual or what people are terming overlay and underlay. The vendors will take care of all the deep coding. We will just manage the features their products provide.

I think its mostly going to be learning new technologies and protocols and new ways of accomplishing requirements.

Now if we can just get someone to put a bullet in Spanning-trees head so we can all move on I will be happy

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http://blog.movingonesandzeros.net/

SDN is more DC than anything for me. I don't see carrier networks using it everywhere anytime soon.

MPLS is still good enough for me


Sent on the move...

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www.mellowd.co.uk/ccie/

The problem is not spanning tree, it's at layer 2 networks need to be loop free thanks to no TTL. We already have no spanning tree networks with various 'fabric' offerings


Sent on the move...

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www.mellowd.co.uk/ccie/

Thinking of infrastructure hardware recalculating stuff all the time because customer applications demand it->pita.
from the security side it's an absolutely horrible view too.
maybe in ten years, idea is good - time's not ready.

Networks should be based on KISS principles, SDN is the opposite. Complexity doesn't makes things easier. reanimate problems, that were already solved.

seems most of us tend to agree. At first I was very excited about it, but as I read more about it, it keeps losing appeal.