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Gradual deployment of SDN – what is the best approach?

Software Defined Networking – SDN is an approach to building data networking equipment and software that separates and abstracts elements of these systems. SDN allows system administrators to network services more easily through abstraction of lower level functionality into virtual services. This replaces having to manually configure hardware and this has become more important with the emergence of virtualisation.

How can organisations best approach the gradual deployment of SDN-enabled hardware in their existing network infrastructure? As the rise of consumerization sees users demand access to their work applications from any device, and businesses start to move away from “traditional” desktops, it is the IT team’s role to ensure that the network infrastructure can support this new way of working. As such, organisations are beginning to deploy SDN-enabled hardware into an existing network infrastructure to help provide seamless and smooth access to virtualized applications.

Application delivery controllers (ADCs) are integral to successful use of SDN, by effectively provisioning networking pathways for efficient data forwarding, as well as analysing and anticipating other services that may be required by applications and instructing orchestration – for example firewall requirements/rules; identity management; inspection policies and so on. The use of ADCs is crucial to understanding the location of resources as software defined networking use increases in businesses worldwide, providing a logical control point for access to the intelligent services offered to the users.

As well choosing the right ADC, testing the environment is crucial to ensure interoperability with legacy switches, suitable throughput and latency. It is likely that multi-vendor environments will continue to be the only option for organisations implementing SDN for the foreseeable future, meaning that the combination of ADCs and thorough testing are crucial for success.

Vladimír Špička, Sales Manager, EEC Central, Citrix Systems