OpenDaylight Open Source SDN Faces Controversy Over Big Switch

OpenDaylight got started in April of this year as a multi-stakeholder open source group run under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. The initial group of members included Arista Networks, Big Switch Networks, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Dell, Ericsson, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, NEC, Nuage Networks, PLUMgrid, Red Hat, and VMware. Now, after not getting its way in a technical discussion, Big Switch is pulling out.

The OpenDaylight Project isn’t all that happy about Big Switch’s exit or the rationale behind it, either.

In a statement sent to Enterprise Networking Planet, the project noted that as much as Big Switch Networks would like to paint this as some sort of David vs. Goliath struggle, the facts simply don’t support it. “It’s more accurate to say this is open source vs. the goals of a single, for-profit startup,” the project stated. “In this case, the developer community combined technology from multiple sources (including BSN), which the company obviously didn’t like. Open source is based on compromise and working together. Sometimes strong motivations and investor goals can get in the way of that. In the spirit of open source, we fully expect BSN to honor its commitments to this project.”

Read the full story at Enterprise Networking Planet:
OpenDaylight Open Source SDN Project Loses Big Switch

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.