Brocade has announced the launch of Brocade SDN Controller 2.0, a commercial distribution of the OpenDaylight (ODL) controller based on the Lithium ODL release, and two new software-defined networking (SDN) applications – Brocade Topology Manager and Brocade Flow Manager.
According to the company, through the launch of these new solutions they aim to reinforce their standing in open source SDN, by providing greater innovation, interoperability and choice while eliminating vendor lock-in for customers.
Brocade’s latest open source SDN controller distribution delivers enhancements to meet data centre requirements for improved interoperability and orchestration including:
- Enhancements to the Open vSwitch Database (OVSDB) interface and the OpenStack Modular Layer 2 plug-in (certified in Red Hat’s Juno distribution) enabling cloud providers to completely use an open software stack to manage their data centre infrastructure
- OpenDaylight clustering for improved scalability and stability
- A new user interface for applications to provide a consistent and intuitive view of the network under control
New SDN applications complement this latest release of the Brocade SDN Controller. The Brocade Topology Manager, a free SDN application, displays discovered network topology, allowing administrators to create a list of nodes and conduct simple searches for nodes. Meanwhile, the Flow Manager extends the capabilities of the Topology Manager by enabling users to view and interact with the network topology using near-real-time information to perform traffic engineering and network segmentation based on end-to-end flow views. In addition, the new Brocade SDN Controller supports the recently-announced Flow Optimiser to intelligently manage traffic flow and proactively mitigate network attacks.
Kelly Herrell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Software Networking, Brocade, said, “Brocade’s strategy is driven by the very close collaboration we have with our leading service provider and enterprise customers to deliver unique networking products and solutions that speed their transition to the new IP, and software is increasingly central to that pursuit. Delivering open solutions like the Brocade SDN Controller 2.0 and related applications, packaged with a full complement of education and services, will facilitate the smooth journey to SDN for customers worldwide.”
The Brocade SDN Controller is continuously built from OpenDaylight code, free of proprietary extensions. Brocade provides multi-vendor compatibility testing and complete, single-source support for Brocade SDN Controller environments. Brocade and its partners provide a range of support, education, and professional services options.
The Brocade SDN Controller 2.0, Brocade Topology Manager and Brocade Flow Manager are available today. A free download of the Brocade SDN Controller includes 60 days of technical support. A production license for the Brocade SDN Controller is priced at $100 per attached node per year, including support. The Brocade Topology Manager is a free application. The Brocade Flow Manager is priced at $40 per attached node per year including support.
