Software-defined networks: All about the application

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Derrick Harris.

Software-defined networks and data centers are the future if enterprises want to manage their infrastructure with the agility of cloud computing providers, but they’re nowhere near ubiquity yet. However, according to two senior VMware executives, the pieces are in place and maturing every day.

When companies think about a move toward software-defined networks, they’re really thinking about how to build a “meta operating system” that brings intelligence to their applications. According to VMware CTO for Global Field and Customer Initiatives;Paul Strong, speaking Tuesday at our Structure: Europe conference in Amsterdam, we’re almost there, but the network is the final bottleneck that must be overcome in order to deliver true agility for applications…

Thanks to virtualization, he explained, applications are insulated from the infrastructure and “you can truly attack [server management] in a way you couldn’t have in the past.” But, he added, there’s a catch: While hosting multiple applications on the same server and spinning virtual servers up and down via software saved companies money, they wanted more. The advent of cloud computing showed companies what’s possible when you can dynamically move workloads and, indeed, whole VMs around a set of resources as policies might demand…

Read more from the source @ http://gigaom.com/cloud/software-defined-networks-all-about-the-application/