
If you're looking to upgrade your network management, you're in the right place. SDN networking companies are revolutionizing the way we manage our networks, making them more efficient and scalable.
Here are some of the top SDN networking companies that can help you achieve this goal: Big Switch Networks, Cisco, and VMware.
Let's take a closer look at each of these companies and what they have to offer. Big Switch Networks, for example, offers a range of SDN solutions that can help you simplify your network management and improve your overall network performance.
Check this out: What Are Affiliate Networks
Top Companies
VMware's NSX technology supports a range of hypervisor and container environments, and benefits from a strong partner ecosystem.
Cisco is a market leader in networking equipment, particularly switches, routers, and data centers, and has taken up the challenge posed by SDN.
VMware's NSX faces tough competition beyond the data center, but its strong partner ecosystem helps it stay ahead.
Cisco's Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) offering is one of the market's leading SDN products, and the company's plan to extend ACI into public cloud infrastructure highlights the importance of cloud providers in this market.
Here are some of the top companies in the SDN industry:
- Cisco Systems Inc. (U.S.)
- VMware
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (U.S.)
- Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
- Intel Corporation
- Juniper Networks Inc. (U.S.)
- NEC Corporation (Japan)
- IBM Corporation
- Pluribus Networks Inc. (U.S.)
These companies are driving innovation in the SDN market, with a focus on automation, orchestration, and security.
Software Defined Networking
Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a major evolution in the way networks are designed, built, and run. It's a part of the software defined everything (SDE) world, where the focus shifts from underlying hardware to a virtualised software layer.
SDN is a key driver in this space, with a battle royal between the software tribe (developers and cloud providers) and the hardware tribe (network equipment vendors and telecom providers). The software tribe is expected to control the future of SDN.
Leading adopters of SDN include Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, AT&T, Broadcom, BT, China Mobile, Singtel, and VMware. These companies are positioned to take advantage of the benefits of SDN, including increased agility, security, and scalability.
VMware NSX is a network virtualization and security platform that enables you to manage your entire network as a solitary entity from a single pane of glass. It reproduces your network model in software, allowing you to provision and create any network topology instantly and deliver critical applications and services simpler and quicker.
Software Defined Networking
Software Defined Networking is a game-changer in the tech world. It's a part of the software defined everything (SDE) vision, where the focus shifts from underlying hardware to a virtualized software layer. This means we no longer think of servers or CPUs, but rather describe the resources our applications require, and the environment manages the rest.
Software defined networks (SDN) are a key part of this new world, allowing for the virtualization of compute resources, memory, storage, connectivity, and network resources. SDN is a technology that originated in data centers but has evolved to incorporate wide area networking as well.
The battle between the software tribe and the hardware tribe is a driving force in this space. While the more agile hardware tribe members will see growth, the ultimate control of a software defined world will lie in the hands of the software tribe.
Leading adopters of SDN include companies like Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, AT&T, Broadcom, BT, China Mobile, Singtel, and VMware. These companies are well-positioned to take advantage of the key themes and technologies disrupting the tech industry.
For your interest: Most Important Companies in the World
VMware NSX is a network virtualization and security platform that enables you to manage your entire network as a single entity from a single pane of glass. With VMware NSX, you can obtain network speed, agility, and security.
SDN differentiators include a consolidated dashboard for every fundamental management task, heat maps driven by AI to display network coverage, and insights into application experience, interference, and performance. Packet capture provides on-demand statistics, and AI-baselining offers guided remediation.
Cisco DNA Center is a robust management dashboard and network controller that ensures you spend less time managing your network and helps improve network performance. With Cisco DNA Center, your IT team can quickly and intelligently respond to network changes and challenges.
Here are some key features of SDN differentiators:
- A consolidated dashboard for every fundamental management task
- Heat maps driven by AI to display network coverage
- Insights into application experience, interference, and performance
- Packet capture for on-demand statistics
- AI-baselining for guided remediation
- Classification, authorization, and identification of new endpoints and users
- Group-based policies that follow endpoints and users
- AI policy analytics to facilitate and demystify complex segmentation
Cloud Native Networking
Cloud Native Networking is a game-changer for organizations looking to move to cloud-native infrastructure. It allows for a consistent infrastructure-as-code and network operations model that's secure, simple, and open.
A fresh viewpoint: Native Mobile App Development Company
Cloud-Native Contrail Networking (CN2) by Juniper Networks delivers hybrid-SDN for a consistent infrastructure-as-code and network operations model. This model is secure, simple, and open, permitting organizations to move to cloud-native in their own time.
With CN2, you can extend Kubernetes to simplify development and operations (DevOps) and orchestrate containerized microservices with APIs and intent-based declarative provisioning. This can be a huge time-saver for developers and IT teams.
CN2 automates the management and creation of virtualized networks to secure, isolate, and connect cloud services and workloads seamlessly across public and private clouds. This automation allows organizations to focus on delivering and developing technology services and products to customers rapidly.
CN2 delivers hybrid SDN orchestration for load balancing, Network Address Translation (NAT), security, routing, and virtualized switching. This means that organizations can have a single, unified view of their network infrastructure.
Here are some key benefits of CN2:
- Automates the management and creation of virtualized networks
- Delivers hybrid SDN orchestration for load balancing, NAT, security, routing, and virtualized switching
- Extends Kubernetes to simplify DevOps and orchestrate containerized microservices
- Upgrades investments in existing orchestration platforms, processes, skills, and licenses
Market Leaders and Insights
VMware's NSX technology is a prime example of product innovation in the SDN market, supporting a range of hypervisor and container environments with a strong partner ecosystem.
Cisco is a huge player in the SDN market, with its Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) offering being one of the market's leading SDN products.
VMware is a leading adopter of SDN, according to GlobalData's thematic research report, along with other top-ranked companies like Alphabet, Amazon, AT&T, and Broadcom.
Cisco's strategy has shifted towards software-based networking, security, and management products, bolstered by acquisitions like Jasper Technologies and BroadSoft.
VMware's NSX faces tough competition beyond the data centre, but it remains a strong player in the market.
The top industry leaders in the SDN market include Intel Corporation, Pluribus Networks Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Cisco Systems Inc.
Here are some of the top SDN companies, listed alphabetically:
- Cisco Systems
- Dell Technologies
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
- Huawei Technologies
- VMware / Broadcom
- Juniper Networks
- Nokia (Nuage Networks)
- Ericsson
- Intel (Barefoot)
- ATandT Business
- Extreme Networks
- Ciena
- Palo Alto Networks
- Versa Networks
- Barracuda Networks
- Silver Peak (HPE Aruba)
- Citrix Systems
- NEC Corporation
- F5, Inc.
- Check Point Software
- Radware
- Open-Source Projects (ONOS, OpenDaylight)
Choosing a Provider
Choosing a provider for your SDN needs requires some serious homework. This is a complex product area that's changing rapidly, so it's essential to stay current.
Visit the websites of potential SDN vendors and go through their product catalogs to compare features and pricing plans. Scrutinize peer-to-peer reviews to get a sense of each vendor's strengths and weaknesses.
It's crucial to speak with each sales rep at length to understand their product and how it meets your organizational needs. Ask questions like: Does this SDN solution interoperate with your current legacy network, or will it be a full replacement?
Consider the vendor's product road map and whether they're expected to keep pace with change in the SDN market. Think about their strategy in relation to the cloud, as many software elements will be cloud-based.
To help you make an informed decision, here are some key questions to ask each sales rep:
- Does this SDN solution interoperate with your current legacy network?
- What is the vendor's product road map?
- What is the vendor's strategy in relation to the cloud?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SDN still relevant?
Yes, SDN remains relevant as it continues to evolve and expand its applications beyond cloud-hosted control planes. Its growing adoption in access networks and programmable pipelines holds promise for delivering new data plane features.
Featured Images: pexels.com


