Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging architecture that aims to make networks agile and flexible. It is the ideal architecture for today’s applications when considering the high bandwidth and dynamic nature. The goal of SDN is to improve network control by enabling enterprises and service providers to respond to rapidly changing business requirements.
1. Directly Programmable
Since it is decoupled from forwarding functions, network control is directly programmable.
2. Agile
Abstracting control from forwarding helps administrators dynamically adjust network traffic flow to meet changing needs.
3. Centrally Manageable
In SDN, network intelligence is centralized in software-based controllers that maintain a global view of the network. This will be available to the applications and policy engines as a single, logical switch.
4. Programmatically Configured
SDN allows the network managers to manage, configure, secure, and optimize network resources quickly through dynamic, automated SDN programs. Here they can write programs by themselves because the programs do not depend on proprietary software.
5. Based on Open Standards and Vendor-Neutral
Since open standards used, SDN has relatively simplified network design and operations. This is because instructions are provided by SDN controllers instead of multiple, vendor-specific devices and protocols.
