Towards software defined networking in corporate and data-centre IoT environments

As large enterprises and data-centres embrace agile workflows by the implementation of virtualisation and cloud technologies, they demand greater flexibility of the underlying infrastructure. Conventional Internet Protocol (IP) networks have proven adequate in the past, but fail to offer rapid configuration and programmability features due to their bundled data and control planes. Software Defined Networking (SDN) is aimed to address this issue with a centralised controlled architecture. In this paper, we first explore SDN products currently available in the market, followed by a critical analysis of SDN implementation, and comparison with existing network technologies. This leads to a summary of the implications surrounding SDN encompassing cost, security, and reliability.