SCENARIO
With increased server virtualization and the explosion of mobile data and cloud computing, network architectures must respond by becoming easier to deploy and manage. This requirement has prompted a transition from traditional networking to SDN. The main concept of SDN is to separate control and forwarding functions, centralize control, and use well-defined interfaces to achieve network programmability. SDN promises efficiency, agility, and flexibility in operating and scaling modern networks, along with simplified service provisioning and reduced capital and operational expenditure (Capex/Opex).
his paradigm shift brings a lot of unknowns and requires extensive testing and validation to ensure that it can deliver the promised benefits. With multiple emerging and competing technologies addressing different deployment scenarios, it is critical that equipment makers, service providers, and enterprises have the ability to quickly and thoroughly qualify devices, networks, and services before deployment. Validation at every step along the migration path not only speeds adoption by discovering and removing blind spots, it also minimizes the risk of deployment failure.
SD-WAN has become one of the most-widely adopted applications of software defined networking in enterprise networks. The concept of using internet for low-cost bandwidth, the popularity of SDN provisioning, and the proliferation of cloud-based applications made SD-WAN the magic wand for every enterprise.
IXIA SOLUTIONS
Ixia provides a rich portfolio of validation and monitoring solutions for SDN networks. Ixia test solutions help to validate SDN use cases and deployment scenarios in carrier, data center, and enterprise networks at every stage of network life cycle—from vendor selection and network design to live deployment. IxNetwork and IxNetwork VE emulate carrier-scale, multiservice, and complex SDN topologies with thousands of devices to stress DUTs or the end-to-end networks under dynamic conditions. IxChariot provides SDN network assessment to ensure that the same or better performance and scale are achieved, before and after SDN rollout.
