OpenDaylight is an open source software project focused on advancing Software-Defined Networking (SDN). This is the first blog in a series that profiles the people who are contributing to the project.
Brent Salisbury works as a network architect and software hacker with over 15 years of IT experience in large enterprise, healthcare and regional provider networks.
How did you get involved with OpenDaylight? What is your background?
By trade I am a network plumber. I grew up learning networking from proprietary vendor APIs. Since I work in academia you would think I learned of SDN from there. I actually first learned of OpenFlow and SDN in a Packet Pushers podcast in which Martin Casado was talking about OpenFlow and Open vSwitch. That was the proverbial ‘blue pill’. There was an obvious void in a collaborative open source controller platform that thinks beyond the data center and is not ultimately controlled by a single vendor’s strategy. I live in a world of hardware switches in enterprise and regional networks. To take advantage of SDN, I need that support from vendors in hardware. OpenDaylight gives the user community the chance to work alongside incredible developers in an environment that truly has a sense of community, fellowship and mutual admiration amongst the participants. There is no time or place in OpenDaylight for know-it-alls and egos. Being open to ideas and respectful debate is incredibly productive in SDN. That is the kind of community that will transcend beyond OpenDaylight to other open source software projects and earns the support from many of us in the community.
