Software-Defined Networking Could Shake Up More than Packets

Anew approach to network traffic control - born out of university researchers´ desire to conduct experiments on production scale infrastructure and based on a slim, six page white paper - is taking the networking industry by storm. The new technology, dubbed OpenFlow, is being promoted by a new consortium called the Open Networking Foundation (ONF; www.open networkingfoundation.org) and is on the cusp of commercial deployment. The foundation´s members include some of the world´s largest software providers, content delivery networks, and net working equipment vendors. OpenFlow might - just might - allow unprecedented granular control of data traffic up and down the appli cation stack. And the structure of the promot ing foundation could capitalize on a focused approach to setting standards that will give the technology a quick-mover advantage.