This paper explains the capabilities, considerations and questions individuals should ask their network vendors when evaluating hardware for their SDN journey.

1. © 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc.
WHEREAS the world is filled with voices shouting the glories of Software Defined Networks (SDNs)1
…
AND WHEREAS IDC expects the SDN market to grow to $3.7 billion by 2016 ...
YET 57 percent of enterprises surveyed don’t know what SDN is2
…
It’s time for a clear look at capabilities, considerations
and questions to ask your network vendor when
evaluating hardware for your SDN journey. And yes, it’s
time that journey began. Why is that?
THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SDN IS HUGE
(FOR THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND IT).
What makes SDN so exciting is the promise of what it
can do. Let us begin with a common truth:
Businesses are looking for flexibility in the way they
build and deploy their applications. Business is
uncertain and changeable. Companies know that they
must move quickly and devote themselves to building
killer applications and services to succeed.
They look to the network to support them. But too
often, it falls short.
SDN is the answer. It promises to solve these issues
and deliver genuine agility to the enterprise and to
service providers with:
AUTOMATED PROVISIONING ACROSS YOUR
CLOUDS. Do not let your virtualized environment limit
you­—automate provisioning across public and private
clouds.
AGILE DEPLOYMENT OF SERVICES. Deliver faster,
right to the network edge.
DYNAMIC TRAFFIC ENGINEERING. Take command
of traffic flow cross the Wide Area Network (WAN).
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT. Simplify management
of campus network policies for wired and wireless
devices.
WE BELIEVE
IT’S TIME FOR SOME
STRAIGHT TALK.
THE BENEFITS OF SDN ARE BIGGER THAN
THE NETWORK (SDN IS FOR BUSINESS).
SDN changes the whole equation for the network,
turning it from a faceless utility into a powerful driver
of business agility. It changes our expectations of
network hardware, and how businesses can and will
react to the challenges of the future.
It should not be approached lightly. A solid strategy
may require 2–3 years to map out, but this is no reason
to wait on the sidelines. Real changes that will yield
immediate results can begin today. This is our call for
clarity on what to consider, what to look for, and the
questions you should ask. We say this with a clear
voice and a clear conscience. Hit us with your hardest
questions, and judge us by the fairness and truth of our
answers.
Q: WHAT WILL NETWORK MANAGEMENT BE LIKE?
A: EASIER. Users want to manage all of their
infrastructure elements including compute, storage
and the network, all from a single pane of glass.
Open source initiatives such as OpenStack10
are
gaining momentum, and commercial options such as
VMware11
already have an important place in many
data centers. This enhances the ability of the network
to adapt dynamically to applications and other
components of the IT infrastructure.
Q: WHAT DO YOU SAY TO OVERLAYS?
A: YES. Overlay networks are increasing in popularity.
In looking at how these overlays provide management
simplification, users have realized that certain
operational benefits can be achieved for greater
agility. Because of this benefit, overlays have become
especially interesting to enterprise customers.
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NETWORK
OPERATORS ARE CLEAR.
THERE IS MUCH TO BE DONE. You still need to
design, provision, manage, operate and troubleshoot
the network. But an SDN world also requires new
skills and knowledge. Here are just a few of the
subjects to study before executing your plan for SDN
implementation:
NEW PROTOCOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES.
Make sure the infrastructure investment you make
is flexible enough to last.
OVERLAYS. The new network will be a hybrid
model which will depend on your choice of
applications. Very few enterprise apps are 100
percent virtualized. A mix of overlay technology
and physical networks will be the reality for most
data centers. Network operators will have to
understand the relationship between the two.
ORCHESTRATION SYSTEMS. As the
management of networks shifts away from CLI
and towards orchestration platforms, the network
interfaces and integration points (APIs) need to
be clearly defined, and must deliver automation
and agility. Examples include network interfaces
for server, sys-admin, application developers and
higher-level orchestration systems.
THE BUYER’S JOURNEY:
WHEN, HOW AND WHERE TO BEGIN.
NOW WOULD BE GOOD. Even if your SDN
implementation will not begin until 2016 or beyond,
you need to make critical infrastructure decisions
now. Server refreshes happen. Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) is taxing most enterprises. Big Data is both a
challenge and an opportunity. You can start making
infrastructure decisions to address today while
looking forward to the SDN future. It’s not about rip-
and-replace. But it’s not about waiting for an SDN
“shake out” either. The exact future of SDN may
not be known, but it starts now. Here’s how:
1. INVEST IN THE RIGHT ARCHITECTURE
Why? The network buying decisions that you make
today are driven by specific projects such as adding
scale and capacity, building new applications and
services, and IT consolidation. SDN won’t change that.
So base your decision on network architectures that
deliver the features and capabilities you are looking
for—with a focus on simplified management.
Why now? The right architecture reduces OpEx for
managing the physical network (topology, power
consumption, space and cabling requirements) while
delivering key features and application performance
that’s reliable and predictable. Just like the foundation
1
451 SDN research survey—42 percent of enterprise have heard of SDN, but not familiar with the details
2
IDC/Juniper Nov 2012
3
OpenStack, OpenStack Grizzly Release, APRIL 4, 2013
4
Gartner analyst in March of 2013: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/gartner_virtualisation_market_overview
5
Gartner—Hype Cycle for Networking and Communications, 2012
6
Gartner—Predicts 2013: IT and OT Alignment Has Risks and Opportunities
7
451 Research/Juniper Networks SDN Use Case Survey, November 2012
8
Gartner—Hype Cycle, ibid
9
Gartner—Predicts 2013, ibid
10
OpenStack—Grizzly Release, ibid
11
Gartner analyst, ibid
12
OpenStack—Grizzly Release, ibid
© Copyright 2013 Juniper Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks
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Q: WHERE ARE WE WITH SDN TODAY?
A: EARLY. There are SDN implementations in
production at some large service providers and mega-
data centers, but those are currently the exceptions
and many of the use cases are in pilot phases.
You may have heard of OpenFlow, one of the first
SDN protocols. Gartner refers to OpenFlow as
“emerging” and predicts broad adoption is still at
least two years away.8
They also estimate that only
10 percent of enterprise customers will be using SDN
implementations to manage their cloud and network
infrastructures by 2016.9
Q: WHAT HAPPENS TO MY OLD NETWORK?
A: IT EVOLVES. Certain physical characteristics of
your network will remain relevant even in an SDN
world. Network operators will still need to operate and
manage the network. But management approaches
will evolve from silos to more converged and
integrated systems for broader orchestration. But how
seamlessly your network evolves will be determined
by the choices you make today.
A physical network that’s
not complex and that’s
easy to manage
Standard and open APIs for
integration, interoperability
and certification
Purpose-built,
programmable ASICs on
core networking platforms
–User experience
–Reduced OpEx
–Superior performance
–Agility via integration
–Automated network
provisioning
–User experience
–Feature velocity
–Customizable for your
environment
Simplified integration
and troubleshooting in
SDN environments
Flexibility and freedom
of choice
Investment protection
means no hardware
replacement
Architecture
Open Interfaces
Programmability
what it is benefits today
Incremental
Benefits for SDN
of your house, you don’t want to change the
architecture every couple of years. You have to live
with your decisions for a long time.
Why is this important for SDN? You’ll have a network
architecture that’s easier to integrate with SDN
controllers and less cumbersome to troubleshoot. As
you move forward in your SDN implementation, you
will still maintain the benefits of OpEx reduction.
2. THINK IN OPEN STANDARDS
Why? SDN is no excuse to compromise on the
characteristics that are currently delivered by
your network architecture. Look for products (and
suppliers) that are building towards open interfaces,
interoperability, certifications, and support for
protocols and management tools that are prevalent in
the SDN world. Be sure to ask your network vendor if
they support:
OpenFlow protocol
VXLAN protocol
NVGRE protocol
Integration with VMware vCenter
Integration with VMware vCloud Director
Integration with NSX
OpenStack integration
CloudStack integration
Puppet and Chef IT automation tools
Depending on your current infrastructure and your
expected needs, you may not need all of these.
But since SDN is still unfolding, the more of these
you have, the more options you’ll maintain as SDN
marches toward its full promise.
Why now? Commitment in these areas is a clear
indicator that your network vendor understands how
to deliver better agility and automation for your
network. It also ensures they won’t lock you into a
proprietary approach or a protocol solution that may
become sub-optimal as SDN evolves.
Why is this important for SDN? You want
flexibility and choice for management methods
and tools, along with a clear path for supporting
SDN controllers in the future.
3. SEEK FLEXIBLY PROGRAMMABLE
HARDWARE
Why? Remember, it’s EARLY. New protocols, features
and orchestration systems may emerge with benefits
that may be too hard to ignore. And you won’t want to
rebuild your network again. Devices built with flexible
programmability have the ability to support new
features and protocols. For example, programmable
ASICs at the core of the network can enable SDN
customers to customize their network
for their needs as SDN evolves.
Why is this important now? Superior performance,
ability to scale and power efficiencies are crucial in
parts of the network such as the data center, campus
core and WAN edge. Programmable ASICs can provide
performance for today’s requirements and flexibility
for what may come.
Why is this important for SDN? Flexible
programmability is important to protect your
investment and reduce CapEX in the wake of new
SDN protocols and encapsulation technologies, and
allows even more flexibility for customization.
SDN OFFERS MUCH.
THE RIGHT MOVES NOW CAN SET
YOU UP FOR THE FUTURE
Whether you’re starting to implement SDN today or
evaluating it for sometime in the future, be sure to
ask the types of questions you’ve seen outlined here.
We bet you’ll find that Juniper Networks has the only
complete strategy and business model—one that can
ensure the investment decisions you make TODAY are
the right choices for the FUTURE.
For more information on SDN and related
technologies, visit http://www.juniper.net/SDN
The SDN Chasm Ahead
15%
only
1%
10%
of Enterprises
are very familiar
with SDN5
market penetration6
will have SDN
deployments
by 20167
56%
75%
more OpenStack developers3
of virtualization customers
use VMware4
Emergence of Orchestration
Land of (Overlay) Confusion
Likely to deploy
overlay within
3 years
80%
Unlikely or need
more information12
VXLAN
NVGRE
STT MPLS
OTV
OPEN FLOW
QinQ
VPLS
SPB
TRILL
20%
The Right Architecture
CONTROLLER
Simple ArchitectureComplicated Architecture
CONTROLLER