SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORKING (SDN)
Software-defined networking decouples the control plane from the data plane, recognizes the network as an operating
system and abstracts the hardware for application interfaces efficient, thus enhancing network flexibility, interoperability
and intelligence.
WHY SDN?
With the emergence of new network applications
and traffic from big data, cloud service, smart city
and 5G, communication networks are growing
in size, complexity and heterogeneity. Simplified
management, improved service provisioning time,
and improved resource utilization has become of
paramount importance. In order to guarantee
the performance of network applications, the
underlying network infrastructures must be aware
of the application requirements and provide
appropriate services. The network control plane is
often used to monitor and configure the network
resources, as well as map the application traffic
to these resources. As the current transport
networks are composed of multiple administrative
and
technology
segments,
communication
and interoperability between control planes
is required. It is often a manual process to
interconnect control planes from heterogeneous
networks, while SDN brings us a new vision of
controlling and managing diverse “network of
networks” automatically.
SDN enhances network flexibility, interopera-
bility, and intelligence.
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CIAN / Center for Integrated Access Networks