Leading IT companies launch Open Networking Research Center

12 Apr 2012

Aim is to find new ways to build networking intelligence into servers and slash the cost and complexity associated with IT networking.

The ONRC has a lofty goal: to develop a ‘comprehensive intellectual framework’ for software-defined networking, or SDN.

The theory behind SDN is that, instead of relying on routers and switches to manage data flowing across networks, network administrators should be able to code new policies and protocols, using open source tools.

In essence, SDN is designed to get servers acting as if they’ve got their own dedicated network hardware, when in reality, they’re sharing it with other servers.

It’s basically a new take on virtualisation, which perhaps explains VMware’s involvement. When more servers share less network gear, goes the thinking, then virtual machines can be moved around with greater ease – potentially a big plus for cloud computing.

“We are seeing a major transformation in the way networking is being re-architected and are excited to be a part of this industry effort to define the future of networking,” said Allwyn Sequeira, vice president and chief technology officer for networking and security at VMware in an official company statement.

SDN also constitutes a proposal to shift much of the intelligence out of network gear and into server hardware – which almost certainly represents a threat to network vendors. Those involved in the ONRC are clearly trying to turn that threat into an opportunity.

“For two decades, networking ahs remained essentially stagnant and networks are far too expensive, complex and difficult to manage,” said academic Scott Shenker of UC Berkeley, who along with Nick McKeown of Stanford University, will act as faculty director of the ONRC.

“This is about to change, thanks to SDN, which will enable network engineers to innovate freely and make networks simpler and less expensive, while becoming vastly more capable.”

At the heart of SDN is OpenFlow, a protocol developed at Stanford University and championed by group formed in March 2011 called the Open Networking Forum. OpenFlow is an open-source technology that separates the intelligence associated with moving packets around a network with the physical hardware that does the moving work.

Shenker describes the opportunity as follows: “While industry is racing ahead with SDN – standardisation efforts are underway and SDN-based products are already entering the marketplace – there is little attention being paid (either in industry or academia) to the fundamental science needed to understand and therefore exploit, the full potential of software-defined networking.”

The joint Stanford and Berkeley ONRC and its Open Networking Laboratory (ON.Lab) aims to fill this void. “If successful, we should be able to rigourously analyse and reason about network management – as we currently can about computation and storage – rather than merely relying on intuition gained from years of operational experience,” he said.