Why is Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Important?

SDN is important because it gives network operators new ways to design, build, and operate their networks. Over the past two decades, networks have come under increased traffic demands and increased scrutiny as both businesses and consumers increasingly rely on network connectivity for sales, customer service, internal communications, and document sharing. SDN, paired with NFV, is a key technology needed to meet these new demands. SDN is just one piece of the puzzle: Network Virtualization (NV), SDN, network function virtualization (NFV), and white box devices each offer network operators a new way to design, deploy, and manage the network and its services. SDN separates the network’s control (brains) and forwarding (muscle) planes and provides a centralized view of the distributed network for more efficient orchestration and automation of network services.