Understanding SDN

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O c tob er 2012
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Understanding
Software-Defined
Networks
IT organizations we surveyed believe this new approach to
networking can reduce costs and improve network efficiency and
security. So why have only
Maybe because
4% of them implemented SDN?
32% cite confusion over vendor strategies
as a barrier to adoption. In this report, we aim to cut through the

confusion and help IT organizations develop an SDN strategy.
By Jim Metzler
Report ID: R5451012
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CONTENTS
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TABLE OF
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3
4
5
6
7
7
10
12
14
15
17
18
20
22
26
Authors Bio
Executive Summary
Research Synopsis
What Is Software-Defined Networking?
A Vision of Control
Impact Assessment
Competing Visions of SDN
Drivers of SDN Deployment
SDN and Security
Be Clear About SDN Objectives
Money Matters
Inhibitors to SDN Deployment
Call to Action
Appendix
Related Reports
Understanding Software-Defined Networks
12 Figure 6: Willingness to Make

Architectural Changes for SDN
13 Figure 7: LAN Challenges Mitigated
by SDN
14 Figure 8: Impact of SDN on Network
Security
15 Figure 9: SDN Security Problems
16 Figure 10: SDN Security Benefits
17 Figure 11: SDN Selling Points
18 Figure 12: Expected Impact of SDN
on the Switch and Router Market
19 Figure 13: Barriers to SDN Adoption
22 Figure 14: Job Title
23 Figure 15: Industry
24 Figure 16: Revenue
25 Figure 17: Company Size
Figures
6 Figure 1: Familiarity With Software-Defined
Networking
8 Figure 2: Decoupling of the Control and
Forwarding Planes
9 Figure 3: Familiarity With OpenFlow
10 Figure 4: Attitude Toward OpenFlow
11 Figure 5: Dumbing Down of Switches and Routers
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Jim Metzler
InformationWeek Reports
Jim Metzler has a broad background in the IT industry. This includes being a
software engineer, an engineering manager for high-speed data services for a
major network service provider, a product manager for network hardware, a
network manager at two Fortune 500 companies and the principal of a consulting organization. In addition, he has created software tools for designing customer networks for a major network service provider and directed and performed market research at a major industry analyst firm.
Each year Jim publishes two e-books, one on application and service delivery
and the other on cloud networking. He co-authored a book titled Layer 3
Switching, which is part of the Prentice Hall series in computer networking and
distributed systems. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Boston University and
is currently an independent industry analyst and consultant.
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SUMMARY
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EXECUTIVE
Software-defined networking has the potential to fundamentally change the networking industry. Given that potential and the buzz that surrounds it, you might guess that
SDN is a well-understood concept and has been deployed by a large number of IT organizations. The reality is that only a small percentage of IT organizations claim to be very familiar with SDN. In addition, our InformationWeek 2012 Software-Defined Networking
Survey shows that only 4% of IT organizations have already implemented SDN and only
another 5% of IT organizations are testing it. At present, SDN is only for early adopters.
It will be challenging for SDN to be broadly deployed in the near term in part because
its not a narrowly defined technology like TRILL or SPB. Rather, its an approach to networking that focuses on centralizing control functionality and providing programmatic
interfaces into a wide range of network equipment. It also requires an extensive ecosystem of vendors. The breadth of what is referred to as SDN is partially a result of the varying ways that its possible to centralize control and provide programmatic interfaces into
network elements.
This report aims to bring clarity to the nascent SDN market by outlining the major
approaches to SDN. We dig into how these approaches are similar and where they differ,
and we examine the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. The report also shares the
results from the InformationWeek Software-Defined Networking Survey, which measures
IT pros familiarity with and attitudes toward SDN and OpenFlow, a new protocol closely
associated with SDN. Finally, it provides guidance to help IT organizations develop a
strategy for SDN.
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InformationWeek Reports
analysts arm business technology decision-makers with realworld perspective based on
qualitative and quantitative research, business and technology
assessment and planning tools,
and adoption best practices
gleaned from experience.
To contact us, write to managing director Art Wittmann
at awittmann@techweb.com,
content director
Lorna Garey at
lgarey@techweb.com,
editor-at-large Andrew
Conry-Murray
at acmurray@techweb.com, and
research managing editor
Heather Vallis at
hvallis@techweb.com.
Find all of our reports at
reports.informationweek.com.
SYNOPSIS
ABOUT US
reports
RESEARCH
Survey Name InformationWeek 2012 Software-Defined Networking Survey

Survey Date July 2012
Region North America
Number of Respondents 250
Purpose To gauge awareness of and adoption plans for software-defined networking
and OpenFlow technology.
Methodology InformationWeek surveyed 250 business technology decision-makers familiar with software-defined networking at North American organizations. The survey
was conducted online, and respondents were recruited via an email invitation containing
an embedded link to the survey. The email invitation was sent to qualified InformationWeek subscribers.
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What Is Software-Defined Networking?

Software-defined networking is a new approach to networking that aims to make data
networks more flexible, easier to operate and
manage, and better able to respond to the
changing demands of applications and network conditions.
According to InformationWeeks 2012 Software-Defined Networking Survey, IT organizations believe SDN can help them overcome a
number of challenges by improving network
utilization and efficiency, increasing automation of common tasks, and improving security.
SDN may also lower costs.
SDN also promotes the use of software interfaces to allow the development of thirdparty applications that can improve network
services or provide new ones, and enable orchestration of resources across multiple devices, such as switches, routers, firewalls and
load balancers.
While SDN has received a lot of attention
this year, IT pros are still trying to get their
arms around the concept: Of the 250 responreports.informationweek.com
dents to our InformationWeek Software-Defined Networking Survey who express having

some knowledge about SDN, 48% say they are
only somewhat familiar with this new approach to networking (Figure 1).
So what is SDN? That depends on whom
you ask. One approach to SDN would overFigure 1
turn the role that switches and other network

devices play by turning them in fast but
dumb (and inexpensive) machines to forward
packets, while network intelligence would reside in a centralized controller. This approach
threatens dominant networking vendors
such as Cisco Systems, which commands high
Familiarity With Software-Defined Networking

How familiar are you with software-defined networking, or SDN?
Very familiar; I understand the details
17%
Somewhat familiar; I have a
general idea of what its about
48%
35%
Familiar; I understand the basics
Data: InformationWeek 2012 Software-Defined Networking Survey of 250 business technology professionals, July 2012
R5451012/1
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FAST FACT
33%
of respondents to our
Software-Defined
Networking Survey say
they are familiar or very
familiar with the
OpenFlow protocol.
reports
prices for network gear. Cisco and others are

pushing back by proposing SDN models that
allow for more automation and flexibility
without doing away with the switchs prominent role in determining optimal network
pathways.
However, one element that all the SDN approaches share is the ability to use programmatic interfaces, such as APIs. This programmatic inter face allows for much more
automation, which can simplify network operations, reduce the number of administrators
required to manage devices and enable the
creation of applications that provide new network features and functions.
This report outlines three approaches to
SDN, explores their similarities and differences,
and weighs the benefits and drawbacks of
each approach. It provides guidance for IT organizations to develop an SDN strategy. It also
examines the results from the InformationWeek Software-Defined Networking Survey,
which measures IT pros familiarity with and
attitudes toward SDN and OpenFlow, a new
protocol closely associated with SDN.
Impact Assessment: Software-Defined Networking

Impact to
IT Organization
Business Organization
Business Competitiveness
Benefit
Risk
SDN has the potential to make networks

more automated, which reduces management burdens
and increases flexibility. Other benefits include the ability
to implement new functionality more effectively and
faster than is otherwise possible.
At present, SDN is characterized by immature
If the adoption of SDN results in lower cost
There is a risk that SDN will not add the
and a more agile IT function, the business organization

wins.
promised value. If an SDN implementation does not work

well, business projects may face IT-related delays.
In the mid- to long term, SDN should enable
If the implementation of SDN has technical
IT to align network resources with business goals. It holds

the promise of a more agile, more automated and potentially more cost effective IT organization.
issues, those could negatively impact the companys competitiveness. However, few IT organizations will risk running a business-critical application in the short term on an
embryonic set of technologies and products, so significant
disruption is unlikely.
products and standards and only rudimentary interoperability. There is also a lack of applications that take advantage of SDN and gapping holes around how an SDN will
be managed.
Bottom Line:
SDN promises to replace human interfaces into network elements with automated interfaces, which should streamline management and provide granular
visibility and control. SDN also has the potential to open up networking to new applications that will further extend the value of the network infrastructure.
A Vision of Control
There are three general approaches to SDN.
The approach thats probably most well known
separates the forwarding and control planes
that typically reside in a switch and moves the
control plane to a separate device. This device,
called a controller, calculates the best path

through a network for particular workloads
and programs the forwarding behavior of the
switches (Figure 2). The controller can be an appliance, a virtual machine or a physical server.
A core concept of this approach to SDN is
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Strategy:
Inside OpenFlow
New software-defined networking technologies in general and
OpenFlow in particular are poised
to disrupt the way we manage
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data
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decades weve relied on Ethernet
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that the OpenFlow protocol is used between

the network elements and an SDN controller
to program the forwarding behavior of the
switch.
According to our survey, 33% of reThis is dummy text
spondents say they are very familiar or familiar
with the
This isOpenFlow
dummy text protocol, and another 38%
say they are somewhat familiar (Figure 3). The
controller
also has
This is dummy
test a northbound API, which is
an interface for applications that want to use
This is dummy
OpenFlow
data.test
A number of vendors have announced their intention to ship OpenFlow-enis dummy test
abledThis
switches,
including Brocade, Cisco, Extreme, Hewlett-Packard and Juniper.
This is dummy test
The Open Networking Foundation, a nonprofitThis
group
that
is dummy
test oversees the development
of the OpenFlow protocol, advocates a controller-based
using OpenFlow.
This is dummyarchitecture
test
ONF has more than 70 members, including
service providers, some of the worlds largest
network device manufacturers and startups.
Note that there are alternatives to the use of
OpenFlow as the communications protocol
between a controller and network devices. In
addition to Java, C, Python and REST APIs, this
includes the Extensible Messaging and Pres-
Figure 2
Decoupling of the Control and Forwarding Planes

Separation of the control and forwarding planes is commonly associated with a software-defined network.
Application
Application
Application
Application
Northbound API
Previous
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SDN Controller Platform
Southbound API
Switch
Switch
Data: InformationWeek Reports
ence Protocol, the Network Configuration Protocol and OpenStack from Rackspace and
R5450912_SDN_chart1
NASA.
However, as our survey shows, OpenFlow is closely associated with SDN (Figure 4).
One of the implications of the ONF approach is the likelihood that switches and
Switch
Switch
R5450912/1
routers would become low-cost commodities,

which could potentially cut costs for companies that adopt this approach. While vendors
such as Cisco and HP have downplayed that
notion, companies such as IBM, Dell and NEC
are more supportive of it. One operation that
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could migrate to a controller is functionality

that negates the need for LAN switches to
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support the Spanning Tree Protocol, Dell executives responsible for SDN said in an interview. They also note that any control functionality that is related to some kind of policy and
Download
that requires taking an action based on what
is inside the packet is also a candidate to
move to a controller.
NEC and a startup called Big Switch Networks provide on their controllers functionalSubscribe
ity that eliminates the
need for the Spanning
The primary advantages of the ONF
Tree Protocol. Both
approach to SDN are that it is based companies have stated
their intention to proon industry-standard protocols and
vide additional network
has significant vendor support.
services on their controllers over time.
The disagreement on the relative role of the
controller and the network elements between
members of the same class of products is one
of the many factors driving the confusion that
surrounds SDN. Our survey respondents were
somewhat evenly split on whether SDN
Figure 3
Familiarity With OpenFlow

How familiar are you with OpenFlow?
Very familiar; I understand the details
10%
Not familiar
29%
Familiar; I understand the basics
23%
Somewhat familiar;
I have a general idea of what it's about
38%
would result in a dumbing down of switches

R5451012_SDN_Chart14
and routers, with a third of the respondents
indicating dont know (Figure 5).
When evaluating SDN, IT organizations need
to take a position on this issue. Is reducing the
relative value of switches and routers a desired
outcome of implementing an SDN? An acceptable outcome? An unacceptable outcome?
R5451012/14
The position that an IT organization takes will

influence which vendors it should consider using and which ones it should avoid.
The primary advantages of the ONF approach to SDN are that it is based on industry-standard protocols and has significant
vendor support and momentum. It may also
reduce costs because switches would become
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single-function commodity devices.

However, one of the disadvantages of this
approach is that vendors are just now in the
early stages of implementing OpenFlow,
which means interoperability among vendors
isnt assured.
Another aspect of the lack of interoperability is that the northbound interface shown
in Figure 2 is not standardized. This means
that a company or vendor that writes an application to communicate with a controller
has to ensure that the application works with
APIs from myriad controller vendors. Note
that the Open Network Foundation has recently announced an initiative intended to
make it easier for application providers to
use various APIs.
Other possible downsides include the fact
that this approach would require companies
to rearchitect their networks to incorporate
the controller-based system. However, our
survey shows that this may not be a significant barrier: Of those with or planning to have
SDN in production, 48% say they are moderately willing to make significant changes to
Figure 4
Attitude Toward OpenFlow

What is your attitude toward OpenFlow in regard to SDN?
OpenFlow is an integral part of SDN;

you cant have one without the other
You dont need OpenFlow to build an SDN
13%
OpenFlow goes hand in hand

with SDN now, but that could change
15%
32%
40%
OpenFlow is important, but not essential
Base: 178 respondents familiar with OpenFlow

get SDN benefits, and another 40% are very

or completely willing (Figure 6).
Competing Visions of SDN
As mentioned, while the ONF approach is
most commonly associated with SDN, there
are two other emerging visions for software-
R5451012/15
driven networks. The second approach also

separates the control and forwarding planes,
but it does so by leveraging a virtual switch
such as Ciscos Nexus 1000V, VMwares DVS or
IBMs DVS 5000v. In this approach, the virtual
switch functions as a forwarding engine thats
programmed by a device separate from the
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virtual switch. This functionality is used as part

of an overlay network that rides on top of the
existing network infrastructure using protocols such as VXLAN or NVGRE.
This approach may appeal to existing customers of Cisco and VMware, of which there
are significant numbers. However, it is only applicable for hypervisor-based virtual switches.
In addition, support for functionality such as
VXLAN and NVGRE is only now emerging.
The third approach uses direct programmatic interfaces via APIs into network devices,
which are broadly defined to include devices
that operate at Layers 2 through 7 of the OSI
stack. In this case, the control and forwarding
planes are not separated, nor is the control
plane centralized.
Many network vendors, including Cisco, are
adopting this approach. This summer, Cisco
announced that as part of its SDN approach
it will offer APIs into multiple platforms. (Part
two of this report offers more details.) However, it is not a Cisco-only approach, as other
vendors including Arista, Extreme Networks
and Juniper Networks provide direct access
Figure 5
Dumbing Down of Switches and Routers?

Do you believe that SDN will relegate switches and routers to being just relatively dumb forwarding engines?
Yes
Dont know
29%
34%
37%
No
to their platforms via APIs.

One advantage of this approach is that it enables very detailed access into, and control
over, network devices. It also avoids the interoperability issues that are associated with the
OpenFlow protocol. Because this approach
does not rely on a centralized controller, it also
avoids the availability and security issues that
R5451012/12
can be associated with a controller-based architecture (that is, if the controller dies, so
does the ability to move traffic through the
network).
On the downside, this approach is vendorspecific. In a multivendor network environment, it would result in islands of control
whereby the operator would have differing
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levels of control of the network equipment

based on the provider of that equipment.
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Drivers of SDN Deployment

Other than a few research-oriented organizations, no IT department wants to implement an SDN. What IT wants to do is to solve
one or more problems and/or find new ways
to add value to the business. If it perceives
that SDN is the best way to resolve those
problems and add new value, then implementing SDN makes sense.
Thats the attitude of an infrastructure
portfolio architect for a multinational professional services organization who took part in
the survey. There is confusion about what
SDN is and what it means to the business,
he says. If I were to go to a business-unit
manager and say that I need $3 million to
implement OpenFlow and that will allow me
to centralize the control plane of my network, they would kick me out of their office.
In other words, it only makes sense to implement SDN if it results in a measurable and significant improvement of the IT infrastructure
Figure 6
Willingness to Make Architectural Changes for SDN

How willing are you to make significant architectural changes to your production networks in order to achieve the
promised benefits of SDN?
Slightly willing
Completely willing
12%
11%
Very willing
29%
Moderately willing
48%
Base: 116 respondents at organizations with, or planning to have, SDN in production

and operations. If I go to management with

R5451012_SDN_Chart5
a plan to implement SDN and reduce the
number of network administrators from 20 to
10 and to reduce provisioning time from two
weeks to four days, they will at least listen to
me, says the infrastructure architect.
Those anticipated improvements are reflected in our survey. We asked respondents
R5451012/5
with or planning to have SDN in production

to choose the top three challenges that SDN
would mitigate. At the top of the list was improving network utilization and efficiency,
closely followed by automation of provisioning and management (Figure 7). Improved
security was third.
Overall, we believe SDN offers three basic
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Note: Three responses allowed

R5451012_SDN_Chart6
impacts
revenue in a way that is very direct
and measurable. Value proposition 3 should
appeal to all types of organizations.
In addition to reducing costs and automat-
1%
Other
1%
Support more east-west traffic
4%
Reduce reliance on vendors product life cycles
8%
Support creation and dynamic movement of virtual machines
10%
Support creation of a private or hybrid cloud
12%
Reduce reliance on proprietary protocols or proprietary

extensions of standards-based protocols
Increase scalability
20%
23%
25%
Get more visibility into applications that are using the network
29%
31%
Reduce cost
Virtualization forces data center

networks to become more flexible
and efficient. Network engineers
have a bewildering number of options to support highly virtualized
environments, from fabrics or
meshes built on protocols such as
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and More
32%
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LAN Challenges Mitigated by SDN

Which of the following data center LAN challenges do you believe SDN can be most helpful in overcoming?
Improve security
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Figure 7
35%
Previous
value propositions for IT:

1. It defines business logic that the infrastructure responds to throughout Layers 2
through 7. For example, a network service
provider could use SDN to align its L2 to L7
devices to support a service-level agreement
for a given customer and a given application.
2. It lets the network be aware of the needs
of the applications and compute resources
and dynamically provide the required network resources.
3. It provides better control, management
and security of the infrastructure by automating tasks such as configuration management.
These value propositions overlap somewhat
and are listed in descending order from
strategic to tactical. Value propositions 1 and
2 will have traction in the near term with sophisticated organizations such as hyperscale
data centers, public cloud providers and network services providers. These value propositions will also have some traction in the near
term among some enterprise IT organizations, primarily enterprises such as financial
institutions that recognize that the IT function
Automate more provisioning and management
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42%
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Improve network utilization and efficiency
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Reduce complexity
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ing management and security policy enforcement, other enterprise-specific applications

that SDN will enable, potentially better than
they could be performed otherwise, include:
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> Network virtualization

> Load balancing
> Firewalls
> Distributed denial of service prevention
> Traffic engineering
> Disaster recovery
> Application acceleration via techniques
such as SSL offload
> Web optimization
> Network analysis whereby management
data is filtered from network elements and
sent to a central site for analysis
In the near term, SDN applications will
come primarily from current infrastructure
players. Extreme Networks, for example, has
announced an identity management ap plication for SDN. Big Switch offers both a
network virtualization and network analysis
application. Radware has announced an antiDOS application and an application that
enables the creation of an application delivery controller fabric. While infrastructure
players will likely continue to develop SDN
applications, one of the great promises of
SDN is that developer communities will cre-
Figure 8
Impact of SDN on Network Security

What impact will SDN have on network security?
Networks will be much more secure
10%
Dont know
31%
32%
Networks will be much less secure
Networks will be somewhat more secure
1%
11%
Networks will be somewhat less secure
15%
It will have no impact on network security
ate a wide range of applications that can

R5451012_SDN_Chart9
take advantage of the access to granular network data that it will provide.
SDN and Security
Security is always a key factor for IT organizations to evaluate when considering a new
technology, and SDN is no exception. Accord-
R5451012/9
ing to our survey, only 12% of respondents

think implementing SDN will make networks
less secure (Figure 8). However, 31% say they
just dont know, a result that highlights the
confusion in the market about SDN.
IT organizations do recognize that SDN has
security risks. Some of these challenges, like
the lack of integration with existing security
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technologies, are to be expected when implementing any new technology (Figure 9).
Some other challenges, such as the concerns
over the vulnerability of the controller, are
unique to SDN. For instance, if hackers were to
gain access to the SDN controller, they would
have the power to inflict significant harm. The
counterargument is that its often easier to protect one central device than it is to protect hundreds or thousands of decentralized devices.
Survey respondents do see the potential
for SDN to benefit network security. The
most anticipated benefit is that SDN will
make it easier to apply a unified security policy (Figure 10). The bottom line is that any IT
organization that is evaluating SDN needs to
address security issues from the outset.
Be Clear About SDN Objectives
When discussing SDN, its common for the
trade press and industry analysts to talk about
its ability to better support the adoption of
private and/or hybrid cloud computing. However, as Figure 7 shows, that capability isnt a
strong driver of enterprise adoption of SDN.
Figure 9
SDN Security Problems

What security problems do you associate with SDN?
Lack of integration with existing security technologies
44%
The controller scares meif an attacker owns that, it's game over
40%
More complexity, which always means less security
38%
Functionality leveraging controller intelligence opens new attack surfaces
38%
Inability to inspect every packet
20%
It will hinder performance to such a degree that public cloud/SaaS use will increase
10%
Other
2%
None; it will help security
9%
Note: Multiple responses allowed
It is common, however, to have technology

adoption driven by different factors at different points in the adoption cycle. For example,
the initial driver of server virtualization was
cost savings. However, once IT organizations
began to implement server virtualization,
R5451012/11
most of them found the agility that virtualized

servers provide became as important as the
cost savings. In similar fashion, IT organizations may well implement a software-defined
network initially for cost savings or added security and later expand that implementation
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12%
of respondents think
implementing SDN will
make networks less
secure; 31% say they just
dont know.
Next
because it provides other capabilities.

This example demonstrates that any IT organization considering SDN needs to be clear
about the value proposition of the technology and how that value proposition might
change over time.
IT organizations also need to identify how
deploying SDN fits in with other IT initiatives.
As the infrastructure architect notes, No CIO
is going to fund an investment in SDN without understanding how that fits into their
cloud strategy.
In another example, many IT organizations
are in the process of flattening their data
center LANs. As part of that activity, most are
evaluating the viability of eliminating Spanning Tree Protocol. One way to do that is to
implement a protocol such as Transparent
Interconnection of Lots of Links or Shortest
Path Bridging. However, as previously mentioned, its also possible to eliminate STP by
implementing an SDN controller that supports the appropriate functionality.
The upshot is that an IT organization must
set realistic expectations with management
Figure 10
SDN Security Benefits

What are the security benefits of SDN?
Ability to apply a unified security policy
44%
Data security via transport encryption
32%
Integrated and more granular access control
29%
Additional points where security controls can be placed to address software/application security issues
28%
Intra-hypervisor (VM-VM) packet inspection and firewall
22%
Malware filtering
22%
More situation- or application-aware security event logging details
22%
Improved security appliance performance/throughput
17%
DoS mitigation
17%
Other
4%
None; it will hurt security
12%
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about the benefits of SDN, how those benefits might evolve over time, and how SDN
will complement or support other major IT
projects and goals.
Figure 11
SDN Selling Points

What benefits did or will you use to sell SDN to the business?
A more efficient and flexible network that speeds service delivery
66%
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Money Matters
Given that IT believes the primary benefits
of SDN relative to the data center are reducing cost and automating management and
security policy enforcement, its not surprising
that those tend to be the selling points used
by IT organizations that have implemented
SDN or intend to implement it (Figure 11).
However, its not clear that the expected cost
savings anticipated with a controller-based
SDN model will appear. IT anticipates those
savings in large part because dumbed-down
switches will be cheaper than conventional
switches. But given the current state of the
market, the deployment of SDN wont result in
any dumbing down of switches and routers
for at least the next two years. That follows in
part because it will take a new generation of
merchant silicon to build fully functional,
highly scalable OpenFlow-enabled devices.
Cost savings on hardware
50%
Ability to apply QoS via traffic awareness
36%
Ability to test new routing protocols
17%
Other
3%
We wont even try; benefits are on the networking side
4%
And even if fully functional OpenFlow devices were available, the vast majority of IT
organizations would adopt them over time
R5451012_SDN_Chart7
and
most likely would implement them only
in part of their infrastructure. Thats because
IT organizations seldom swap out one infrastructure for another in a single move, par-
R5451012/7
ticularly with a new technology.

Its also possible that the cost savings of
commodity switches will be eaten up by the
costs of centralized controllers. In fact, when
we asked survey respondents to anticipate
the impact of SDN on switch and router markets in 2015, the second-highest response, at
October 2012 17
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18%, was that costs would simply shift to controllers and software (Figure 12).
In addition, some IT organizations are likely
to adopt SDN in a hybrid model, in which
some control plane functionality is centralized
and the remaining functionality remains distributed within switches. Depending on how
much control functionality is centralized, this
scenario may not result in switches with significantly less functionality; in fact, this scenario may result in switches that require additional functionality.
The bottom line is that any cost savings that
might result from adopting low-cost OpenFlow-enabled devices will take place over a
number of years, if at all.
Figure 12
Expected Impact of SDN on the Switch and Router Market

Which of the following best describes your expectation of SDNs effect on the switch and router market by 2015?
Somewhat lower prices, less hardware differentiation, but same main players
22%
The cost will just shift to controllers and software
18%
Fewer proprietary features, emphasis on standards
16%
Will reshuffle market leadership
11%
Switches and routers will be a commodity; pricing landscape will be totally different
7%
Switches and routers will be a commodity; vendor landscape will be totally different
7%
Other
1%
No impact; Cisco will figure out how to maintain its margins
18%
Inhibitors to SDN Deployment

IT organizations that are evaluating SDN
need to understand the availability and scalability characteristics of the particular designs
they are evaluating.
One of the concerns with a controller-based
approach to SDN is availabilitythat is, what
happens if the central controller goes down?
Another is scalabilityhow many packets, call

setups, processes or flows can one controller
support? To respond to those concerns, many
vendors, including Big Switch, NEC and Vello,
support a clustering of their controllers. While
that approach can mitigate availability and
scalability concerns, it still leaves open what
R5451012/13
happens if the network elements somehow

lose their ability to communicate with the
centralized controller cluster. One network design option that addresses this concern is to
implement a redundant link between the
controller and each switch.
Another factor that limits the deployment
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Note: Three responses allowed

For instance, the infrastructure architect says

R5451012_SDN_Chart8
the
lack of education is a major barrier to the
adoption of SDN. We dont know a lot about
SDN and what its benefits are.
Interoperability is also a concern. He says he
2%
Weve already implemented SDN
4%
No inhibitors to implementing SDN
2%
Other
11%
Not scheduled to have a network technology refresh

in that time frame
13%
14%
18%
18%
22%
23%
24%
25%
Concern that major networking vendors will derail SDN by

adding proprietary features
Follow
Lack of a critical mass of organizations that have deployed SDN
Follow
We dont see a compelling value proposition
Follow
Concern that the technology will not scale to support

enterprise-class networks
Share
Lack of resources to evaluate SDN
Share
Which of the following are the top inhibitors to your company adopting SDN in the next two years?
Other technology or business priorities
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Barriers to SDN Adoption
Immaturity of enabling technologies
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Figure 13
32%
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of SDN is that there is no widely agreed-upon

model for how SDN and OpenFlow-enabled
networks will interface with existing network
management platforms and troubleshooting
tools. IT organizations that are evaluating SDN
need to have a solid plan for how theyll manage and troubleshoot those networks.
We asked our survey respondents to indicate the primary inhibitors to their company
adopting SDN in the next two years. Their top
three responses reflect one of the central
themes of this report: As is typical of any earlyadopter market, the development and implementation of SDN is characterized by immaturity and confusion. The top response, at
41%, was the immaturity of current products
(Figure 13). However, the second-highest response, at 32%, was confusion and lack of
definition in terms of vendor strategies.
Given that there are several technological approaches that can claim to be software-defined networking despite significant differences among the approaches, such confusion
is understandable.
That confusion is echoed in IT organizations.
Confusion and lack of definition in terms of vendors strategies
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Immaturity of current products
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Worry that cost to implement will exceed ROI
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R5451012/8
would like to see some form of certification so

that if he were to acquire an SDN controller,
he would know what switches, and what code
versions, it worked with.
At present, any IT organization that tries to
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take an SDN controller and connect it to three

or four vendors OpenFlow switches would either fail or would, at a minimum, spend a lot
of time and resources working with the vendors to make those devices work together because the OpenFlow protocol is still so new.
Call to Action
There are relatively few players in the IT industry making the argument that SDN is
ready for broad deployment in production
Subscribe
networks. As such, SDN
is not encumbered by
As is typical of any early-adopter
too much hyperbole.
market, the development and
However, given the
market research preimplementation of SDN is marked
sented in this report, it
by immaturity and confusion.
is clear that SDN is
shrouded in confusion.
IT organizations need to disperse this confusion to better understand SDN and to establish
a strategyeven if that strategy is to do nothing relative to SDN for the foreseeable future.
We offer a set of considerations to help guide
you in creating that strategy.
> Start with a firm definition of what

SDN means to the organization. This includes taking a position relative to whether
or not they want to implement an SDN that
features:
>> Direct programmability of switches and
routers, which in most cases will be accomplished by leveraging software created by a third party
>> Separation of the control and forwarding
planes using OpenFlow for communications between them
>> Separation of the control and forwarding
planes using something other than OpenFlow for communications between them
>> An overlay network
>> Other approaches and technologies
> Define the use cases that justify deploying SDN, whether to solve problems or add
value. Analyze alternative ways to solve those
problems or add that value and recognize
that the use cases may change over time.
> Keep an eye on SDN adoption in the
market and SDNs technological maturation.
This includes analyzing the items mentioned
in the preceding section (e.g., the stability of

OpenFlow and of the northbound APIs).
> Identify how extensive the implementation of SDN will be, both initially and over
the first couple of years. For example, will the
implementation just include top-of-rack
switches or will it include core switches? Will
it include L4 to L7 functionality, such as load
balancing or protection against DOS attacks?
> Decide whether any of the control
functions that have historically been done in
switches and routers will be done in SDN
controllers.
> Analyze how the deployment of SDN
fits in with your existing infrastructure as well
as with other IT initiatives in progress.
> Review vendors SDN strategies and offerings and identify one or more viable SDN
design. This includes understanding the risks
and rewards of acquiring pieces of SDN from
disparate vendors vs. trying to acquire all or
most of the system from a single vendor.
> Determine whether the IT organization
will write applications itself to take advantage of SDN. If so, what has to happen within
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the organization to enable that capability?

> Identify and analyze commercially available applications that take advantage of SDN.
> Evaluate the availability and scalability
characteristics of the particular SDN designs
that are under consideration.
> Understand how your IT organization
can provide a sufficient level of security for
the controllers.
> Assuming that your IT organization is
interested in OpenFlow, decide whether to
implement OpenFlow-only switches or hybrid
switches that support OpenFlow and traditional networking.
> Understand how the IT organization
will manage and troubleshoot its SDN
deployment.
> Evaluate publicly available reports on
interoperability testing.
> Test the SDN designs and use cases that
are under consideration.
> Analyze how the intended imple mentation of SDN would impact the current
networks.
> Draft a plan for how your IT organiza-
tion will minimize and mitigate the risks associated with implementing SDN.
> Develop a program to get management buy-in. This includes getting funding
as well as the buy-in from any other organization that will be directly impacted by the
deployment of SDN.
October 2012 21
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APPENDIX
reports
Next
Figure 14
Job Title
Which of the following best describes your job title?
89
Other
7
6
Executive IT management (C-level/VP)
Consultant
7%
8%
7%
Line-of-business management
5%
IT director/manager
Non-IT executive management (C-level/VP)
IT/IS staff
33%
8%
32%
R5451012/24
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Figure 15
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Industry
What is your organizations primary industry?
Construction/engineering
2%
Download
Consulting and business services
11%
Education
7%
Electronics
2%
Financial services
Subscribe
9%
Government
12%
Healthcare/medical
10%
IT vendors
10%
Manufacturing/industrial, noncomputer
10%
Media/entertainment
2%
Retail/e-commerce
4%
Telecommunications/ISPs
8%
Utilities
2%
Other
11%
R5451012/25
October 2012 23
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Figure 16
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Revenue
Which of the following dollar ranges includes the annual revenue of your entire organization?
14%
10%
Government/nonprofit
$6 million to $49.9 million
8%
7
6
Less than $6 million
Dont know/decline to say
Download
89
17%
2
3
Subscribe
$5 billion or more
12%
7%
11%
13%
$1 billion to $4.9 billion
8%

R5451012/26
October 2012 24
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Figure 17
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Company Size
Approximately how many employees are in your organization?
89
Fewer than 50
Download
10,000 or more
8%
20%
7
6
50-99
8%
4
100-499
5,000-9,999
20%
14%
2
3
Subscribe
8%
22%
500-999
1,000-4,999
R5451012/27
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4% of them implemented SDN?

32% cite confusion over vendor strategies

as a barrier to adoption. In this report, we aim to cut through the

Report ID: R5451012

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

12 Figure 6: Willingness to Make

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Survey Name InformationWeek 2012 Software-Defined Networking Survey

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

What Is Software-Defined Networking?

dents to our InformationWeek Software-Defined Networking Survey who express having

turn the role that switches and other network

Familiarity With Software-Defined Networking

Very familiar; I understand the details

prices for network gear. Cisco and others are

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Impact Assessment: Software-Defined Networking

SDN has the potential to make networks

At present, SDN is characterized by immature

If the adoption of SDN results in lower cost

There is a risk that SDN will not add the

and a more agile IT function, the business organization

promised value. If an SDN implementation does not work

In the mid- to long term, SDN should enable

If the implementation of SDN has technical

IT to align network resources with business goals. It holds

called a controller, calculates the best path

that the OpenFlow protocol is used between

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Decoupling of the Control and Forwarding Planes

SDN Controller Platform

Data: InformationWeek Reports

routers would become low-cost commodities,

could migrate to a controller is functionality

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Familiarity With OpenFlow

Very familiar; I understand the details

would result in a dumbing down of switches

The position that an IT organization takes will

single-function commodity devices.

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Attitude Toward OpenFlow

OpenFlow is an integral part of SDN;

You dont need OpenFlow to build an SDN

OpenFlow goes hand in hand

OpenFlow is important, but not essential

Base: 178 respondents familiar with OpenFlow

get SDN benefits, and another 40% are very

driven networks. The second approach also

Like This Report?

virtual switch. This functionality is used as part

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Dumbing Down of Switches and Routers?

to their platforms via APIs.

levels of control of the network equipment

Drivers of SDN Deployment

Understanding Software-Defined Networks

Willingness to Make Architectural Changes for SDN

Base: 116 respondents at organizations with, or planning to have, SDN in production

and operations. If I go to management with

with or planning to have SDN in production