Virtualization solution to speed Software Defined Networking deployments

IBM has introduced a new unified network controller based on OpenDaylight technology designed to get organizations up and running fast on Software Defined Networks (SDN).

SDN is an approach to network design and management that moves the control of network switches – which forward data through an enterprise – from the switches to an extensible software platform with open interfaces. SDNs provide added responsiveness and adaptability for cloud computing, Big Data analytics, as well as mobile and social business services.

The new IBM Software Defined Network for Virtual Environments (SDN VE) can automate and speed up the process of setting up such networks.
“It generally takes days to re-provision a network,” said Robert M. Cannistra, Senior Professional Lecturer of Computer Science and Information Technology, at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. IBM has been working closely with the SDN Innovation Lab at the college for the past year. “The solution we’re developing with IBM and the SDN VE is designed to cut that down to under an hour or literally minutes by allowing a data center operator to move data and applications to a safe data center from a remote location using a tablet or smartphone.”

Announced at the OpenDaylight Summit, the IBM SDN VE is among the first products built with open source components and interfaces from the OpenDaylight Project, as well as with support for OpenStack platform that enables organizations to integrate their SDNs into private and public clouds.
With both VMware and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) virtualization solutions, as well as support for the Open Networking Foundation’s OpenFlow standard, the SDN VE platform unifies and simplifies network control for multivendor physical and virtual networks.

The SDN VE consists of the unified controller, virtual switches for creating overlays, gateways to non-SDN environments and open interfaces for application integration. SDN VE enables network administrators to achieve greater enterprise performance, scalability and security, and address ever-changing business needs by speeding up network provisioning from days to hours.

“Our goal is to take advantage of the openness of the OpenDaylight platform and deliver that advantage to clients by collaborating with other developers to establish an ecosystem of interoperable network applications and services,” said Dr. Inder Gopal, IBM vice president of System Networking Development. “The cooperation needed to realize the benefits of SDN is only possible within an open framework, and IBM is pleased to provide a holistic solution for new and existing networks.”

With the OpenDaylight Project, IBM is working closely with its Business Partners, such as A10 Networks, ADVA Optical Networking, Brocade, Citrix, F5, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Plexxi, Radware, SilverPeak, vArmour, VSS Monitoring and others to enable scalable networking applications that include load balancing, firewall, intrusion detection, routing and other services.