Understanding the role of SDN
SDN emerged as a transformative way of networking and networking infrastructure in the early 2010s. This paradigm-shifting approach to networking has revolutionized how IT networks are designed, managed, and operated. Up to this point in time (in some respects, it’s continuing), traditional network architectures were rigid and complex, with control functions tightly integrated into network devices such as routers and switches. SDN, on the other hand, decouples the network’s control plane from the data plane, centralizing the control in a software-based controller. This decoupling allows network professionals to dynamically manage and configure the network, making it more agile, flexible, and responsive to changing business needs and requirements.
To gain a better understanding of SDN, let’s take a look at Figure 8.5:
Figure 8.5 – The SDN plane
As we can see, several planes make up the overall...
