Brocade continues to advance in the Open Source Software-Defined Networking space with the announcement of the release of the Brocade SDN Controller 2.0, a commercial distribution of the OpenDaylight Project with no proprietary extensions or platform dependencies, and two new software-defined networking (SDN) applications—Brocade Topology Manager and Brocade Flow Manager – that help administrators manage network topology, devices, and flows in an SDN environment through the intuitive Brocade SDN Controller GUI.
These new releases are another signal of Brocade’s continued commitment to providing the best experience for transitioning to open source SDN, allowing enterprises enhanced device interoperability and the flexibility to choose networking platforms independently of architectural needs.
Formerly known as the Vyatta Controller, the new Brocade SDN Controller 2.0 is based on the Lithium ODL release and offers some key benefits to enterprises looking to transition to SDN:
- Provides a fully tested, extensible commercial distribution of the OpenDaylight controller, the leading open-source SDN controller with a large, vibrant developer community
- Is continuously built from OpenDaylight, free of proprietary extensions and with complete portability for OpenDaylight applications and plugins
- Delivers the broadest platform for use in multivendor environments—with the ability to control physical and virtual networking devices from all major vendors
- Fosters a collaborative relationship for innovation, enabling the creation of SDN environments that meet the needs of service providers and enterprises alike
- Comes packaged with education and professional services to help organisations develop and deliver their own business logic, use cases, and custom network services
- Includes single-source, 24×7 technical support for the entire Brocade SDN Controller environment
In parallel with the release of the Brocade SDN Controller 2.0, Brocade has also released the Brocade Topology Manager and the Brocade Flow Manager. The Brocade Topology Manager is a free application included with the Brocade SDN Controller and leverages the intuitive Brocade GUI to display information on network topology, hosts, switches, ports and flows in near-real time. With Brocade Topology Manager, network operators can view the status of data centre flows at any time.
The Brocade Flow Manager application simplifies management of OpenFlow flows within the network. It extends the capabilities of the Brocade Topology Manager by enabling administrators to view and interact with the network topology, using near-real-time information to perform traffic engineering and network slicing based on end-to-end flow views. In addition, the new Brocade SDN Controller supports the recently-announced Brocade Flow Optimizer to intelligently manage traffic flow and proactively mitigate network attacks.
“As a leader in the New IP, we realise that providing Open Source software solutions is integral to helping enterprises make a smooth and seamless transition to SDN. Delivering open solutions like the Brocade SDN Controller 2.0 and related applications, packaged with a full complement of education and services, will facilitate the smooth journey to SDN for customers worldwide,” says Yarob Sakhnini, regional director, MEMA at Brocade.
In an era when specialised network developer skills are still a rare commodity, an OpenDaylight-based controller provides access to the industry’s largest pool of SDN developer talent and code libraries. Some organisations may choose to be consumers of the OpenDaylight Project via the Brocade SDN Controller. By leveraging the history and technical depth of Brocade engineering personnel within the OpenDaylight community, organisations can realise product enhancements without having to burden their own development resources.
In addition, Brocade can co-design and, if desired, build custom applications to support unique use cases and environments—or refer customers to a qualified partner to meet their needs. Brocade understands that many of these applications are specific to the operator’s business and takes formal measures to protect the operator’s environment and intellectual property.
For user organisations that wish to build their own applications, Brocade provides a Developer Edition with a range of developer tools; free Web-based training and formal developer courses; a public YANG repository; and free Perl, Postman, Python, and Ruby libraries for the Brocade SDN Controller to simplify and speed application development. New developer resources and tutorials are regularly posted to the Brocade SDN Controller GitHub page.
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