With networking becoming more programmable, HP is trying to build a software ecosystem around its software-defined networking (SDN) environment that will eventually include a raft of third-party applications. To that end, the company announced today that the HP SDN App Store is now open for business.
Stephane Kahloun, senior global product marketing manager for SDN within the HP Networking group, says the applications are built on top of the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller and were designed to simplify the management of HP routers and switches that support the open source OpenFlow networking specifications developed by the Open Networking Foundation.
Kahloun says there are currently two applications from HP and six third-party SDN applications available in the HP SDN store. They include:
- BlueCat DNS Director software to enforce DNS policies.
- Ecode evolve SDN orchestrator software, which facilitates dynamic service provisioning.
- F5 BIG DDoS Umbrella for defending against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
- GuardiCore Defense Suite network security software.
- KEMP Adaptive Load Balancer Application for optimizing routing paths.
- Real Status Hyperglance SDN management platform for hybrid cloud computing environments.
- HP Network Protector software to provide real-time security across OpenFlow networks.
- HP Network Optimizer for Microsoft Lync enables automated provisioning of network policies.
HP currently has 30 OpenFlow-compatible networking devices available. The software development kit it created for the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller has been downloaded over 5,000 times, says Kahloun. In addition, the HP Technology Services Group has announced that it is making available a set of SDN security services based on the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller.
As enterprise networking continues to evolve, HP is clearly trying to rally the weight of the networking industry to compete more aggressively against Cisco. Even though Cisco supports OpenFlow as an option on its networking equipment, the company is more focused on promoting its existing proprietary network controller technology.
The degree to which HP can leverage OpenFlow to usurp Cisco remains to be seen. But if history is any guide, when it comes to programming, open specifications do eventually carry the day.