Software-Defined Network.
Software-Defined Networking is a revolutionary approach
to network management that enables dynamic
programmatically efficient network configuration
to improve network performance and monitoring.
SDN is designed to reduce the complexity and static
and inflexible network architectures
by using a standardized platform
that provides centralized view of the entire network.
SDN architecture decouples the network control
and forwarding functions, enabling the network control
to become directly programmable
and the underlying infrastructure to be abstracted
for applications and network services.
This separation is achieved through three distinct planes,
the data plane, the control plane,
and the application plane.
First, the data plane, also known as the forwarding plane,
is responsible for handling packets,
moving data packets from place to place.
It makes decisions based on protocols
such as IP and ethernet and is concerned
with the actual process of sending and receiving data.
For example, when you send an email,
data plane of your network takes responsibility
of moving your email data from your device
to the recipient's device.
It does this by forwarding the data packets
through switches and routers.
Next, the control plane.
The control plane is the brain of the network.
It makes decisions about where traffic is sent.
In traditional network architectures,
each router has its own control plane.
However, in the SDN, the control plane is centralized.
This means that one central controller dictates
the traffic flow across the entire network
making the network more manageable and flexible.
Finally, application plane.
The application plane is where all network applications
that interact with the SDN controller reside.
These applications instruct the controller on what to do,
and in turn, the controller manipulates the network
according to these instructions.
A real world example of software defined networking
is Google's B4 project.
Google uses SDNs to manage its data center networks.
The B4 project allows Google to control the flow
of data across its network
ensuring that bandwidth is used efficiently.
This is particularly important for Google
as it needs to manage a vast amount of data
across its global network of data centers.
Another example is AT&T'S Domain 2.0 Initiative.
This project aims to transform AT&T's network into an SDN
with a focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
By using SDNs, AT&T can automate many
of its network management tasks
reducing the need for manual intervention.
So remember, Software-Defined Networking
is a transformative approach to network management
that separates the network into three distinct planes,
the data plane, control plane, and the application plane.
The data plane is responsible for moving data packets.
The control plane decides where traffic is sent,
and the application plane houses the network applications
that instruct the controller.