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Software Defined Networking

A technology that allows network and security professionals to manage, control, and make changes to a network.

SDN is basically a giant UI wrapper for the many different text-based configuration files scattered across the many services and machines that compose a network. 

SDN Layers (Raw Lesson Content)

There are three of them.

Layer Description
Application communicates with the control layer through the "northbound interface" or the "northbound API"
Control receives instructions from the application layer then deploys the necessary changes to the configuration files on the physical layer

Physical/Infrastructure

 

 

 

 

 

 where all network services rest, whether physical or virtual. communicates with the control layer through the "southbound API"

Tradeoffs of SDN

You get:

  • centralized management
  • more granular, fine-tuned control
  • lower costs and labor
  • revive older hardware
  • easily gather network statistics
  • vendor crossplay

I get:

  • very new technology
  • lack of vendor support
  • no definitive standard for the SDN technology
  • centralized control = a new target for security breaches

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