What Are the Potential Benefits of Sophisticated SDNs?

Software defined networking (SDN) involves the forwarding process of network packets being separated from the routing process, which makes network control directly programmable and allows for the underlying infrastructure to be independent from its applications.

The most prominent benefits of SDN are traffic programmability, versatility, the capacity to develop policy-driven network oversight and the use of network automation. Perhaps Its greatest advantage is the ability to fabricate a framework that can facilitate data-intensive applications, such as big data analytics.

In SDN, an administrator can guide traffic with a central control console that can direct network switches to provide network services where needed, irrespective of the particular connections between a server and network devices.

SDN differs from traditional network architecture in that it does not allow individual devices make traffic decisions by using configured routing tables. SDN also offers several advantages over a traditional architecture. Although particular benefits of an SDN differ from network to network, the network abstraction and agility it provides does translate into advantages for almost any network.

4 Ways SDNs Benefit the Business

1. In the Cloud

In SDN, a network administrator can alter rules for network switches as needed; adjusting priorities or even blocking particular kinds of packets with control and security at the granular level. This ability is particularly useful in a cloud computing multi-tenant architecture, since it lets the administrator handle traffic loads in a versatile and efficient manner. Basically, this allows the administrator to use cost-effective commodity switches and have great control than with traditional approaches.

2. Better Content Delivery

Controlling the flow of traffic is one of the principal benefits of SDN. The capability to direct and automate traffic makes services like voice over IP (VOIP) and video streaming much simpler. SDN can also provide a seamless experience for those streaming video and audio.

3. Better Security

One of the benefits of SDN that is very attractive to IT managers is centralized security. Virtualization has made managing a network more difficult to reliably apply firewall and content filtering restrictions. A bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy only compounds this challenge.

SDN features a singular point of control for the circulation of security and policy information. Centralizing security does create a singular central point of attack for would-be hackers, but SDN can be more secure, if implemented properly.

4. Better Cost Efficiency

SDN does not have to mean a massive investment. In fact, there are a handful of SDN products that are available for free. Although a company may have to pay a license fee for some solutions, there are a handful of that ship with the operating system included.

Greater efficiency, better server utilization, superior management of virtualization, and other advantages should translate to significant operational savings. Used correctly, SDN should reduce overall costs and increase savings because so many routine network issues can be automated from a central place.

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