Development Status SDN technology

SDN technology I believe we are no stranger to many people even have ears hear the calluses. After a period of controversy, SDN has finally been recognized by some of the data center market, began expanding the size of the relevant market, the market size in 2015 is expected to SDN switches and controllers will be more than 1.4 billion US dollars, and by 2019, this figure will reach $ 12 billion. SDN technology data center has been gradually recognized by the market for the development of the data center has brought vitality, which just a few years ago raised when SDN technology is very different, a lot of technical conservatives no longer ignore the existence of SDN technology, began to accept even like SDN technology, so the market opportunity came out. Compared to a few years ago talk SDN technology, now we have begun to emerge scale commercial trial, but to the number of data centers are being tested SDN technology program, a thriving affect SDN technologies emerge.

SDN is a change in the traditional network technology, breaking the technical barriers to the traditional network, allowing network technology to open. In the data center, the only network technology is the most closed technique, each network technology manufacturers all play each, have a lot of proprietary technology, which makes a lot of network equipment interoperability difficult, to the development of network technology, data center development have brought resistance . The network has become a stumbling block to the rapid development of the data center, it must make changes to the network. It is in this context, SDN onto the stage was. Although SDN wonderful dance, can not understand the appreciation of the audience are seated audience, or even think of SDN danced well ugly, so the emergence of SDN be more challenged, the development of resistance is not small, but not the network Support giant companies, almost unable to move. Not long, cloud computing, big data, virtualization technologies are fire, these new technologies detonated a data center, however, these techniques rely on a network are SDN, which highlights the importance of the SDN, only have the ability to network SDN to cloud computing, big data, virtualization techniques communion. At this Internet giant manufacturers have to accept SDN, joint networking vendors strive together for the network open. This time, SDN really angry, especially since 2015, with SDN network technology based data centers around the world, the country is also true. Three operators SDN and network manufacturers to do the test in the actual deployment of network applications, three Internet giants have been deployed in the data center SDN technology, these SDN deployment has played a good role model, peace, human security, government, banks, etc. hundred hundred lines industry giants are beginning to test and deployment of SDN, SDN technology has been widely promoted.

SDN hot market is one thing. In fact, from a technical point of view, is not currently commercially available SDN SDN original definition, in accordance with the definition of SDN by the controller to automatically manage the entire network, issued a stream table, traffic forwarding through the flow meter. This design for completely new data center, can be adapted, but the face of massive existing data center, are facing can not be practical situation. Massive data center contains a variety of network equipment, different manufacturers, different protocols and different specifications, which SDN controller is also compatible with these devices can not be, and traditional network devices do not support flow table, so that the data center is not possible to deploy SDN, which will replace all of these devices, these devices for the data center is the most precious asset, needs to be replaced gradually, upgrading it to deploy SDN brought great difficulty. Even for the new data center, we need the support of all network devices send flow table, and now all network controller manufacturers can not compatible with each other, so that the construction of such a SDN network, you can only choose an online vendor of all devices and controllers , which for a data center is very negative, which will purchase network equipment and a lack of future devices on the network operation and maintenance bargaining power, so in general the data center will purchase two to three network equipment manufacturers of equipment, compared with each other, merit-based selection, Thus there is a number in the network of network equipment, SDN nature can not be deployed, SDN technology to unify the online world is still a long way to go.

The current status of data centers SDN technology applications actually uses two deployment options, one is no controller scheme, which is clearly still a need for manual configuration of network equipment, changes in servers, network devices need to manually do some networking configuration change, but also the deployment of such networks VXLAN, NFV, TRILL and other SDN with technology, these techniques can be realized through a virtual machine across a data center server stateless migration, which no controller program but also to allow data center in the future Prepare to have the controller direction; the other is to have controller solutions, network equipment in the fiber optic interconnect good, good basic configuration interconnect port after delivering network configuration by the controller, when issued not flow table configuration, but the actual network configuration, such as ARP, MAC, routing these network elements to achieve up among all the devices within the network. When such change or increase during network equipment NE, own calculation by the controller to automatically deliver the configuration, which will greatly reduce the workload of operation and maintenance, the benefits it brings to the data center is obvious. This program, although not with a controller flow table under real hair, but already has a network of automated management software capabilities, the most important is that such programs can be compatible with existing data center network, is currently the most popular SDN program, which Species SDN program is not lofty, very down to earth, it was widely recognized. The last is a natural flow table SDN standard definition programs, this ideal SDN program, in fact, there is little use, but in some technical strength of strong research data center testing is still relatively far away from the actual commercial.

Although SDN applications and SDN standards vary, but gained more recognition in the data center began large-scale deployments. This SDN program is still not break the barriers between network technology, manufacturers of controllers on different networks have different, because there is no flow table, naturally they do not comply with OpenFlow protocol, so the current controller for manufacturers but also between the various networks closed, not for outsiders. This SDN solutions for data center operation and maintenance convenience brought on, but still not breaking the blockade network between manufacturers, have to say is a pity. However, SDN development just on the right track. I believe that with the white box switch mature, chip manufacturers on OpenFlow support is getting better, the real SDN technology will obtain greater future development, data center network inevitably more open.