Open Networking Foundation Formed to Speed Network Innovation
Optimizing the flow of network traffic, especially in real-time, is difficult. Routers and switches are configured to direct traffic based upon a set of rules incorporated in the hardware. If it were possible to control the flow of packets through a network via a software interface, traffic optimization and therefore network efficiency, could be improved.
The creation of the Open Network Foundation (ONF), a new non-profit organization which will promote network optimization technologies, was recently announced by a group of network power users, including Google, Facebook and Verizon. The ONF describes the concept of using software to control the behavior of network devices as Software-Defined Networking (SDN). The first tool available, once a standard implementation and a structure for on-going development are put in place, will be OpenFlow. OpenFlow is the result of joint research conducted by Stanford University and UC Berkeley over the last six years. The university teams were led by Nick McKeown (Stanford) and Scott Shenker (UC Berkeley).
More extensive management interfaces will be built as the twenty-three initial members of the ONF work to expand SDN capabilities. In addition to the ability to try and test network configurations, OpenFlow would also permit, for instance, fast and easy prioritization of certain packet types or blocking portions of traffic.
The broad goal of Software Defined Networking is to make better use of the massive network hardware investment already in place.
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