Software-defined networking continues to migrate across the technology space, with Big Switch Networks announcing a deal this week that will see computer giant Dell reselling its Big Tap application and Switch Light Operating System across Dell’s Open Networking switches.
Big Switch explained that the deal will bolster Dell’s open networking plans and provide a more compelling business case for adopting SDN technologies.
“The early adopters of SDN were largely the hyperscale players. But with the advent of initiatives such as Open Networking from Dell, the path for all enterprises to enjoy the benefits of SDN is getting easier,” said Douglas Murray, CEO of Big Switch. “The joint solutions coming from the Dell and Big Switch partnership will bring hyperscale data center design and choice to a broader audience.”
Big Switch explained that its Big Tap application will leverage Dell Ethernet switches to provide a scalable “monitoring fabric.”
“Using an SDN-centric architecture, Big Tap enables tapping traffic everywhere in the network and delivers it to any troubleshooting, network monitoring, application performance monitoring or security tools,” the company explained.
Initial Dell hardware products to include the Big Switch SDN solution will include the Dell Networking S4810 and S6000 data center switches.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.
A recent report from Infonetics Research found that the telecommunications industry expected to see rapid movement through the rest of 2014 in terms of software-defined networking and related network functions virtualization deployments. The report, based on conversations with telecom operators representing 51% of worldwide telecom capital expenditures, found that 29% of those surveyed are currently deploying SDN and 52% plan to evaluate SDN deployments by the end of the year. The survey also found that 97% of those questioned plan to deploy SDN at some point, with 93% saying they plan on deploying NFV.
Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier networks at Infonetics Research, explained that demonstrations at the recent Mobile World Congress event showed the progress being made in rolling out SDN and NFV.
“This is the year that SDN and NFV move from the lab to field trials,” Howard said. “Many carriers are in the process of moving from SDN/NFV proof-of-concept projects to working with vendors in the development and ‘productization’ of software that will become the basis for commercial deployments.”
For more information on SDN and NFV and how they are set to impact the telecommunications space, check out the RCR Wireless News feature report “Virtualizing The Network – Virtualization, NFV, & SDN.”
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