OpenFlow alone is not enough to enable SDN. OpenFlow also requires switches and controllers, which is now what Big Switch is offering publicly with the Big Virtual Switch and the Big Network Controller products. Additionally Big Switch is providing SDN visibility with the new Big Tap solution.
At the core of Big Network controller is the open source Floodlight controllerthat provides a common network abstraction for the entire network.
Appenzeller explained to EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet that the Big Network Controller will always be based on the latest version of the open source Floodlight controller.
“The enterprise version that is the Big Network Controller adds a lot of functionality that is wrapped around Floodlight,” Appenzeller said.
The Big Network approach takes into account the fact that enterprises today use VLANs and enables their continued used with an overlay.
“Our controller fully supports working with external networks that are not OpenFlow enabled, including VLANs,” Appenzeller explained.
Read the full story at EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet:
Big Switch Emerges with Commercial SDN Portfolio
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.
