As software-defined networking technology begins to permeate telecommunications, more organizations are seeking vendors that can provide the solutions needed. To help telcos make this decision, here are a few of the top SDN vendors in the market today:
Cisco
This first SDN vendor is a familiar face in the technology sector, and builds upon client trust in the sector by providing a range of reliable services, including components for SDN infrastructures. According to CRN, the company recently announced a new "spin-in" organization called Insiemi, which will work to develop advanced SDN technologies. Cisco has reportedly invested more than $100 million on improving SDN systems and the creation of Insiemi is another step in this direction. The company noted that it will support OpenFlow on certain Nexus switch models, providing usable technology that is familiar and easily navigable for users.
Big Switch Networks
Another organization that is currently climbing the ranks in the SDN sector is Big Switch Networks, a startup founded in 2010 that provides OpenFlow-based SDN switches, controllers and monitoring capabilities, CIO stated. The organization seeks to make solutions available to replace aging legacy systems that can hamper future operations through the implementation of advanced software abstraction layers on physical and virtual devices. The organization began shipping its first offerings – OpenFlow controllers, unified network-monitoring applications and SDN network virtualization switches – in 2012.
"An open platform with centralized software provisioning delivers improvements in network agility through programmability and automation, while substantially reducing the costs of network operations," wrote CIO contributor Jeff Vance.
Citrix
Citrix is another well known organization in the SDN industry. CRN stated that the organization was an early supporter of the Open Networking Foundation to further advance virtualization technologies. The company even made OpenFlow protocol support a standard feature on its Citrix XenServer in 2011.
"In large infrastructure clouds (which might be supporting SaaS, PaaS or IaaS type services), it is incredibly important to be able to define and build control plane architectures that match the problem domain of the specific service," noted former Citrix CTO Simon Crosby.
OpenDaylight Project
Another group making waves in the SDN industry is the OpenDaylight Project, an organization that aims to establish sector-wide open-source SDN standards. The group was founded in April 2013 and hopes to prevent the development of proprietary solutions and vendor lock-in in the newly forming SDN industry.
"In order for SDN to deliver on all of the lofty promises SDN vendors are making, standards will have to emerge," Vance noted.
Administrators from Cisco and IBM originally founded the group, and the project has grown to include members from Citrix, Juniper, VMware and Big Switch Networks.
