Cloud Computing: Software-Defined Networking Rises Above The Hype

Grazed from InformationWeek.  Author: Daniel P. Kent.

Over the last year, we’ve seen another technology phenomenon added to the long list of IT hype: software-defined networking (SDN). You might ask: "Haven’t networks been defined by software since the days of the ATM or the introduction of VLANs?" The answer is yes, there have been efforts to manage and manipulate physical network components through software, but most of these efforts have focused on easing network management tasks.

What makes SDN different is its intent to allow programmability of the network based on real-time information and data traffic flows. This allows for a closed-loop system where the network can be reconfigured to optimize applications or protect against threats dynamically, based on the current environment…

Imagine a USB stick inserted into a laptop that delivers malware. The laptop is brought to the office and connected to the internal network, and it starts passing that malware to other computers. SDN could prevent this from happening. When used in conjunction with a net flow analyzer, it detects the anomalous behavior and sends it to the SDN controller. The controller reconfigures the network based on your group’s cyberstrategy (e.g., quarantine the offending port, slow down data throughput, or send all traffic from that device to a scanner). No human intervention is required, and this can be done with current network devices…

Read more from the source @ http://www.informationweek.com/government/cloud-computing/software-defined-networking-rises-above-the-hype/d/d-id/1113263