ONF launches open source community to bolster SDN software development

By Business Cloud News

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) has announced the launch of an open source software community and code repository aimed at consolidating and accelerating development efforts around software and solutions that take advantage of software defined networking, reports Business Cloud News.

The opensourcesdn.org site is intended to be a resource for those looking to commercially deploy open source SDN software solutions, track feature development, encourage interaction and help developers create integrated SDN solutions out of solo software projects.

The ONF has set up the Software Leadership Council (SLC), led by a cross-industry group of eight SDN experts and stakeholders to govern the site including: Jono Bacon, XPRIZE Foundation; Stu Bailey, Infoblox (Chair); Jasson Casey, Flowgrammable; Saurav Das, ONF; Carl Moberg, Cisco Systems; Ben Pfaff, VMware; Rob Sherwood, Big Switch Networks (Vice Chair); and Dan Talayco, Self-Referential Software.

“The launch of opensourcesdn.org further underscores our commitment to the ongoing commercialization of open source software worldwide,” said Dan Pitt, executive director of the Open Networking Foundation.

“We see open source software as a key route to developing de facto standards and fostering multi-vendor interoperability, both of which are top priorities for ONF. Our work in open source software development will continue to be complementary to both our own specifications work and the open source work done by other organizations and we look forward to continued collaboration,” Pitt said.

In a separate blog post outlining drivers for and features of the site Stu Bailey said “it’s about time that we start putting the “S” into SDN,” and that the effort will ultimately help vendors make more money and operators improve their networks.

“It’s about time for our SDN movement to evolve to the next level, to start cashing in on the promise of SDN. We have made progress, but SDN is still too challenging for mainstream network operators who don’t have 20 hours a week to make things work. We need integrated solutions, stacks of software that can be downloaded and deployed, and helpful Open Source SDN community gurus to help folks out (think “SDN Stack Overflow”). We need to get serious, make time, get engaged, get moving, spread the word, and make a difference,” Bailey explained.