Software Defined Networks: Architecture and Applications

Software Defined Networks discusses the historical networking environment that gave rise to SDN, as well as the latest advances in SDN technology. The book gives you the state of the art knowledge needed for successful deployment of an SDN, including: How to explain to the non-technical business decision makers in your organization the potential benefits, as well as the risks, in shifting parts of a network to the SDN model How to make intelligent decisions about when to integrate SDN technologies in a network How to decide if your organization should be developing its own SDN applications or looking to acquire these from an outside vendor How to accelerate the ability to develop your own SDN application, be it entirely novel or a more efficient approach to a long-standing problem Discusses the evolution of the switch platforms that enable SDN Addresses when to integrate SDN technologies in a network Provides an overview of sample SDN applications relevant to different industries Includes practical examples of how to write SDN applications

Software-Defined Networks (SDN) are transforming the Internet by replacing bundled, proprietary hardware and control software. SDN is being embraced by cloud providers, telcos, and enterprises, as it enables a new era of innovation in networking. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to SDN from the perspective of those who are developing and leveraging the technology. Book Features: Describes a complete SDN stack, illustrated with example open source software. Emphasizes underlying concepts, abstractions, and design rationale. Describes both fixed-function and programmable switching chips. Describes the P4-based toolchain for programming and controlling switches. Describes a range of SDN use cases: enterprises, datacenters, access networks. Includes hands-on programming exercises, downloadable from GitHub.