Legacy network rollout typically requires months of extensive ‘human middleware’ and customisation, delaying potential application deployment while limiting agility. SDN promises to automate network operations, however closed, proprietary SDN technologies inhibit innovation, prevent interoperability and limit creation of a marketplace. An open SDN ecosystem and application development platform can unlock innovation as well as enable collaboration.
“One of our biggest priorities is delivering new innovations that keep pace with customer demands for new services,” said Ricardo Pedreti, data networking marketing manager, Telefonica|Vivo Corporate Customers. “The simplicity and automation enabled by HP’s SDN solution, removes complexity and will allow us to accelerate the delivery of next-generation services.”
The HP SDN Developer Kit provides developers the essential tools to create, test and validate SDN applications, leveraging HP’s SDN infrastructure and full complement of support services. The HP SDN App Store lets customers browse, search, purchase and directly download SDN applications onto their Virtual Application Networks SDN controller, creating a new business model for how network services are purchased and implemented.
“With SDN the networking industry has an opportunity to disruptively innovate and is now primed for a monumental leap forward,” said Bethany Mayer, senior vice president and general manager, Networking, HP. “HP has created the industry’s most comprehensive SDN product portfolio as well as an open SDN ecosystem, which offers an environment for enterprises and partners to rapidly tune the network to their business and application needs.”
Fostering innovation through an open ecosystem
The HP SDN Developer Kit provides HP AllianceOne partners, as well as independent software developers, access to the tools necessary to develop, simulate and validate enterprise-grade SDN applications to sell on the HP SDN App Store. These tools enable partners to:
•Quickly develop new applications directly on the HP VAN SDN controller using API documentation, developer guide and sample code;
•Test application functionality and interoperability in a ready-made environment that simulates user conditions, with the SDN simulation suite and HP SDN Virtual Lab;
•Validate newly created applications to meet HP’s enterprise-grade standards through the HP SDN Validation Test.
Alongside these resources on HP.com are SDN developer forums that encourage collaboration including creation of private working groups and support services from HP.
“Applications are what will drive SDN technology into mainstream networking prominence,” said Rohit Mehra, vice president of network infrastructure, IDC. “The catch 22 is that to innovate through applications requires a large investment in infrastructure to develop, which becomes prohibitive. The advent of an SDN App Store, together with an SDN Developer Kit, makes this an accessible alternative for developers.”