Virtualization has been a blessing for data centers – thanks to the humble hypervisor, we can create, move and rearrange computers on a whim, without thinking about the physical infrastructure.
The simplicity and efficiency of VMs has prompted network engineers to envision a programmable, flexible network based on open protocols and REST APIs that could be managed from a single interface, without worrying about each router and switch.
The idea came to be known as software defined networking (SDN), a term that originally emerged more than a decade ago. SDN also promised faster network deployments, lower costs and a high degree of automation. There was just one problem – the lack of software tools to make SDN a reality.
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