ONF Publishes Open SDN Migration Use Cases and Methods

The Open Networking Foundation's Migration Working Group published recommendations for organizations looking to migrate to software-defined networks based on the OpenFlow standard.

The :Migration Use Cases and Methods" paper summarizes best practices and lessons learned from real-world open SDN migration use cases and deployments from different network domains. Referenced examples include Google’s inter-data center WAN use case, NTT’s provider edge use case, and Stanford’s campus network use case. The “Migration Use Cases and Methods” document describes a framework for migration methods exemplified by a set of target networks and offers a variety of requirements to ensure a complete and successful migration to SDN.

“SDN is making a dramatic impact on the networking industry, and many business and technology decision makers, including CTOs and those who own and operate networks, are seeking recommendations and best practices for SDN migration,” said Justin Dustzadeh, chief technology officer and vice president of technology strategy at Huawei, and chair of the Open Networking Foundation Migration Working Group. “The Migration Working Group’s ‘Migration Use Cases and Methods’ document is a valuable resource that can help network operators gain insights into real-world SDN migration use cases and learn more about the process of migrating services to an OpenFlow-based, software-defined network.”

The ONF Migration Working Group was chartered in April 2013 to produce methods, guidelines, systems, and tools to migrate network services from a traditional network to an OpenFlow-based, software-defined network. The Working Group brings together practitioners who have carried out, or are interested in carrying out software-defined network migrations in order to reduce associated risks.

“ONF focuses on encouraging the adoption of open SDN, and a pivotal step in doing so is providing the information necessary to help operators and end users successfully migrate to a software-defined network, taking into account the significant investments they have made in their existing networks,” said Dan Pitt, executive director of the Open Networking Foundation. “This document from the Migration Working Group is an excellent starting point to help those considering a software-defined network make migration a reality.”

The “Migration Use Cases and Methods” document can be found at:
https://www.opennetworking.org/images/stories/downloads/sdn-resources/use-cases/Migration-WG-Use-Cases.pdf