Software-defined networking (SDN) is a network management technology and approach that promotes dynamic and efficient network configuration.
Companies use SDN solutions to improve the performance and monitoring of their network.
See below to find out all about the global SDN market:
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SDN market
The SDN market has a estimated value of $ 9.2 billion in 2020. It is predicted to reach $ 35.6 billion by 2026, following a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.4% from 2022 to 2027.
Several geographic regions are driving growth in the SDN market:
- The US market has an estimated value of $ 4.1 billion in 2020
- China has the second largest market share, estimated to reach $ 7.8 billion in 2027, maintaining a CAGR of 26.2%
- Japan and Canada are expected to grow respectively 14.7% and 18.1% in the forecast from 2020 to 2027
- Germany is expected to grow at 17.2% CAGR by 2027
- The Asia-Pacific market is estimated to reach $ 5.7 billion by 2027
By industry, the professional services market is estimated to maintain the largest share of the SDN market with a 70% revenue share. Other notable verticals include:
- Banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI)
- Retail and consumer goods
- Government
- Taking care of your health
- Manufacturing and IT-enabled services
Features of SDN
SDN solutions aim to improve network control and management. Their architecture consists of three layers: applications, controls, and infrastructure, which interact with APIs.
The application layer
The application layer contains the application used by your organization. It can be anything from cybersecurity systems detecting intrusions and threats to firewalls and load balancers.
Unlike traditional networks that require special apps, SDNs use controllers to manage data plane behavior.
The control layer
The control layer is the brain of SDN. It resides on its own server, managing policies and data traffic flow across the network.
In the SDN structure, it interacts north and south with the system APIs.
The infrastructure layer
The infrastructure layer is the physical aspect of the network. It consists of switches that forward the incoming and outgoing network to its target destination.
Benefits of SDN
As a solution, SDN technology simplifies and simplifies how businesses manage data flow within their internal networks.
Other SDN benefits include:
- Reduces the complexity of the operation
- Eliminates the need for manual adjustment
- Easy third-party integration
- Take advantage of open APIs for faster time to market
- Improves network management and visibility
- Reduces hardware footprint and reduces costs
“SDN, as an architectural strategy, optimizes what these virtualization techniques can do,” he said. says IBM in a white paper on SDN.
“It provides dynamic intelligence and orchestration that continuously optimizes the use and delivery of virtualized network resources and the flow of data to the network infrastructure.”
SDN use cases
Here are some examples of how organizations in different industries have used SDN solutions to better manage their internal networks.
Airbus Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters is a manufacturing division of Airbus. Headquartered in France, it is one of the largest companies in its market, in terms of both output and revenue.
The German division, Airbus Helicopters Germany, needs to upgrade its network hardware by replacing the Nexus 2000 switch with new Nexus 900-series hardware. Moving to Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), it acquired the company’s industry -leading SDN solution.
“The Cisco DNA Center includes out-of-the-box ServiceNow integrations. We can use Cisco APIs to automatically open and close technical support tickets when physical and logical issues arise on our campus network, ” said Ezequiel Perez-Rodenasnetwork engineer at Airbus Helicopters, Germany.
“The resulting paradigm shift has helped us simplify network management, tighten security, deal with ever -increasing workloads, and embrace IoT and BYOD connectivity.”
The newly implemented SDN network connected several buildings and less than 2,000 users. Airbus Helicopter replaces approximately 20% of its current infrastructure, approximately 43 switches.
CloudSeeds
CloudSeeds has been a provider of cloud engineering and consulting services since 2013 in Hamburg, Germany. It helps its business clients scale their networks to reach goals through virtualization of infrastructure and IT services.
In order to offer a new class of automated services, CloudSeeds needs a new network platform to meet the demand. With an open architecture, it can anticipate future growth needs.
“SDN is well used for cloud infrastructure. Using Contrail has allowed us to create software-defined networks that seamlessly integrate diverse locations into a unified cloud, ” said Kevin Fibachfounder and managing director, CloudSeeds.
“Once the equipment is physically in place and the software overlay is ready to use, it only takes a few minutes to release the new servers, or we can even deploy a whole new data center for customers. in a few hours. “
The result is zero-touch network provisioning that allows services to be provisioned in minutes instead of weeks. The new SDN infrastructure is resilient and cost-effective.
Ensono
Ensono is a provider of managed IT services for cloud innovation. It works with companies from around the world, helping them adopt network solutions that enable growth and efficiency.
Ensono is looking to expand its private cloud to meet the rising demand for networking and security services with audits and compliance requirements. It also needs a way to support its rapid growth, while maintaining a slight increase in the number of staff.
By implementing multiple offers from VMware, Ensono has been able to lift its network infrastructure to meet its needs and future expectations.
“At NSX, we have been able to provide self-service and API access to our customers, while adding enhanced security features, such as Distributed Firewall and Micro-Segmentation,” said Steven Lordsenior manager of product management, Ensono.
“At the front and center of project automation, we not only simplified operations for our customers, but we also provided an automated disaster recovery (DR) platform in the Ensono Private Cloud, with easy DR bubble testing defined by software. “
Ensono reports that it has saved between $ 10 and $ 15 million in the five years since implementing VMware’s SDN solutions. It improves control over its IT environment, automating the deployment of virtual machines and security layers in minutes.
SDN providers
Some of the leading vendors of SDN solutions in the market include:
- Cisco
- VMware
- Juniper Networks
- IBM
- Lumina
- Colt Technology
- Versa Networks
- Junos Space
- Masergy
- Nuage Networks
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