VAN: deliverable SDN

The concept of SDN is very popular, and OpenFlow-based products are also constantly released. However, the network fully built through SDN is rare at this stage. As a result, SDN is still being discussed by most people, but some companies have begun to try to gradually deliver and implement SDN, such as H3C.

"H3C SDN strategy emphasizes deliverable. At this stage, many customers will discuss this with them. Based on the current network situation and specific needs of the customer, H3C provides the customer with the best solution ." Sun Hui, H3C technology marketing department director, said, "It is difficult for us to recommend that customers replace existing devices with devices that support OpenFlow, which is unacceptable to users ." In fact, Customers focus more on the final results, and on whether our solutions can meet their needs and improve efficiency. Then they will focus on what technologies they adopt. SDN is only a specific form for users to build intelligent application-oriented networks, rather than a target. The Virtual Application Network (VAN) of H3C is a solution launched based on users' Application Network requirements. SDN is a very important part of the solution.

VAN's three meanings

"H3C released the VAN solution to change basic network resources into dynamic basic resources, improving the utilization efficiency of network resources, making network delivery and change more agile, and integrating networks with computing and storage, more effectively supports the development of the new generation of Internet." "VAN's connotation includes three parts: virtualization, automation, and SDN," said Yan chuanpu, vice minister of H3C technology marketing department ."

Virtualization is to "pool" network resources and change physical network devices into virtual network resource pools. Automation is based on the virtualization of network resources, through the automatic orchestration technology, to achieve rapid deployment and change of network services and achieve efficient management of large networks through automated management technology, SDN implements centralized control and intelligent management of network devices based on the two.

"SDN has two key points: relatively centralized control and open APIs ." Ma chuanpu said that the original control protocols are all self-negotiated between devices. In the SDN solution, a completely new product form emerged, it is the Controller that centrally controls traffic selection and forwarding. Currently, many OpenFlow protocols are concerned, that is, the protocol for controllers to communicate with devices, currently, OpenFlow has been used in China, but it is mainly used to build a dedicated area for experiments on the experiment network.

On the other hand, how does one implement software definition based on the traditional network? In addition to the Controller/Agent solution, another solution should be considered: Open APIs. In this regard, H3C wants to plan and design the actual needs of customers, because there are some differences between network enterprises, research institutions, and most enterprise users in what API technologies they use and what APIs they need. Based on the communication and practice with many high-end users in China, H3C proposed the concept of van sdk and opened multi-level interfaces through Comware and iMC, based on these interfaces, the software can better control the network.

Yun chuanpu divides SDN into three steps. The first is to open the API and Controller/Agent architecture; the second is to achieve visualized business orchestration and customized delivery; and the third is to completely apply. Based on Open APIs and the Controller/Agent architecture and visualized orchestration, Alibaba Cloud provides customers with a wide range of applications to implement SDN.

Exploring SDN Controllers

In the entire SDN architecture, controllers are very conspicuous. Many of the innovations are on controllers, and most of the SDN acquisitions are concentrated here. So some people have to laugh, and controllers have to use SDN. What are the differences between H3C controllers? "The whole direction of the H3C controller is integration. Based on the evolution of existing SDN networks, we believe that the Controller based on a single technology cannot fully meet the customer's needs. Therefore, we define the Controller as a converged and evolved Controller, that is to say, the same Controller must support multiple Controller/Agent protocols at the same time." Sun Hui positioned the H3C controller as a fusion, which resonated with the few domestic SDN attempts. "In the data centers of many Internet customers, most of the networks are based on the traditional architecture. H3C works with them mainly based on open APIs. In some of the customer's innovative experimental environments, we will also build an experimental environment completely based on OpenFlow and other technologies, but the scale is not large. Some controllers are self-built by users, while others are expected to be provided by manufacturers, the traditional network and OpenFlow network must be linked together, so the user needs to be a converged controller.

When talking about SDN, we cannot ignore the power of HP. HP not only participated in the Stanford University's SDN experiment at the beginning, but also soon launched a product that supports OpenFlow, can this technical advantage bring benefits to H3C? "H3C and HP's technical teams often have technical exchanges. We are tracking the latest standards in the Industry Based on OpenFlow 1.3.1, our corresponding solutions will be developed and designed in the OpenFlow field according to 1.3.1 as a starting standard." On the other hand, the high share of H3C in the domestic network market and numerous high-end customers have also brought a lot of SDN practical opportunities to enrich the development of SDN.