The need for greater agility and control to manage environments more effectively has produced evolutionary
advances over the past few years. One such example is Software Defined Networking (SDN), which offers the
next step in network traffic control, whereby software and policies are used to define consistent network behavior
and responses, rather than relying on a conglomeration of individual hardware devices, each with their own
configuration.

SDN leverages principles of automation and intelligent management; it can direct network traffic to least-used
resources in a load balancing arrangement so that redundant systems can share workloads more effectively. This
increases network and system response times and in turn can lead to better applications which are well-suited
to utilize these advantages. In addition, SDN offers better scalability and the ability to control heterogeneous
environments such as a local data center linked with cloud services.

SDN is merely one cog in the wheel of a more effective infrastructural management philosophy. The bigger picture
involves Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC), whereby the management concepts of SDN are applied to the
entire data center. Through virtualization, cloud computing and software automation, the data center becomes a
service in itself and can be operated in a more efficient and agile manner.

TechRepublic Premium surveyed 203 respondents in April 2016 to find out more about SDN. Download this comprehensive 33-page research report to find out about deployment plans, business drivers, preferred vendors and more.