Software-defined networking(SDN),a new networking paradigm decoupling the software control logic from the data forwarding hardware,promises to enable simpler management,more flexible resource usage and faster deployme...Software-defined networking(SDN),a new networking paradigm decoupling the software control logic from the data forwarding hardware,promises to enable simpler management,more flexible resource usage and faster deployment of network services.It opens network functionality,application programmability,and control-to-data communication interfaces that used to be closed in conventional network devices,offering endless opportunities but also challenges for both existing players and newcomers in the market.Through a comprehensive and comparative exploratory of SDN state-of-theart techniques,standardization activities and realistic applications,this article unveils historic and technical insights into the innovations that SDN offers toward an emerging open network eco-system.We closely examine the critical challenges and opportunities when the networking industry is reshaped by SDN.We further shed light on future development directions of SDN in broad application scenarios,ranging from cloud datacenters,network operating systems,and advanced wireless networking.展开更多
基金supported in part by agrant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Grant Nos.61370232 and 61520106005)
文摘Software-defined networking(SDN),a new networking paradigm decoupling the software control logic from the data forwarding hardware,promises to enable simpler management,more flexible resource usage and faster deployment of network services.It opens network functionality,application programmability,and control-to-data communication interfaces that used to be closed in conventional network devices,offering endless opportunities but also challenges for both existing players and newcomers in the market.Through a comprehensive and comparative exploratory of SDN state-of-theart techniques,standardization activities and realistic applications,this article unveils historic and technical insights into the innovations that SDN offers toward an emerging open network eco-system.We closely examine the critical challenges and opportunities when the networking industry is reshaped by SDN.We further shed light on future development directions of SDN in broad application scenarios,ranging from cloud datacenters,network operating systems,and advanced wireless networking.