Separating The Opportunities From The Obstacles In Open-Source Networking

Open standards have driven the networking market since the earliest days of the Internet. While the use of open source for networking is a more recent phenomenon, it is no less important. A major industry transition to open source for software-defined networking (SDN) is under way, and users and vendors stand to benefit. Some expectations, however, may need to change.

While the original idea behind SDN — separating the control from the data plane in network switches — has turned out to be just one of many architectural approaches that have emerged, it did catalyze massive interest in software and open source within the networking world. Things like APIs and DevOps tools became relevant to network engineers, and open source movements emerged to fulfill the need for increased automation and flexibility as organizations moved deeper into the cloud.

Most recently the conversation has shifted to how open-source policy frameworks can hide the complexity of networking and make interacting with networks easier and faster for application developers. Suddenly, networking is not just about the next generation of ASIC technology. It’s now about innovating at the speed of software...