Software-Defined Networking
Automate and program your network faster
Provision, manage, and program networks more rapidly with software-defined networking. In this centralized approach to network management, the underlying network infrastructure is abstracted from applications. SDN provides choice in automation and programmability across data centers, campuses, and wide-area networks. Use Cisco software-defined solutions to build intent-based networks.
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Features and benefits
Simplify operations
Reduce complexity by decoupling the control and data planes, while making automation highly secure and scalable.
Achieve faster time to market
Deploy applications and services faster by leveraging open APIs. Easily integrate third-party products.
Build programmable networks
Eliminate manual configuration. Provision and manage data centers, campuses, and wide-area networks.
Lay the foundation for intent
Centralize configuration, management, control, monitoring, service delivery, and cloud automation.
Find the best SDN solution for you
For data center managers
Increase business agility: automate provisioning and operations, enhance security, and enable multicloud.
For network managers
Design, provision, and manage highly secure networks that provide access to any application.
See what customers have to say
"We developed outstanding games for our 272 million monthly active users in Q1 2019. To do this, we needed the highest network-performance standards for our employees. Cisco AI Network Analytics has enabled us to resolve connection issues faster than ever before while also increasing application performance. This has enabled king.com to offer employees a network experience that encourages work efficiency."
Jordi Marin Manzanera, Senior Network Engineer, King.com
"We are a small, three-member team driving an intent-based network that powers the number-one sausage brand in the United States. Cisco AI Network Analytics is a crucial component of our network infrastructure, as every single intelligent issue and insight found has allowed us to plan and make changes that improve connection and application experience within our network."
Eric Vandermause, Senior Global Network Architect, Johnsonville Sausage
"Mobile access is dynamic in university environments; we have over 24,000 devices on our network during the semester. With Cisco AI Network Analytics, I have been able to take an already performing network to its highest level by actively finding the contextually relevant and impactful trends, actionable insights, and issues in the university network."
Shai Silberman, Director of Network Services, San Jose State University
"The ability to serve Durham County depends on our ability to enable users to connect and drive effectively critical applications. Cisco AI Network Analytics has enabled us to understand the most important connection and throughput issues across our network. At the same time, the ability to see trends and drive comparisons has enabled us to have a deep understanding of the main characteristics of our network and execute important changes that improve performance."
Joel Bonestell, Network Services Manager , Durham County
"Application performance and network connectivity are crucial for our customers and operations at each of our 3600 branches. Cisco AI Network Analytics has enabled us to maintain high network performance and provide optimal service to all departments, which enables them to reach or even outperform their business goals."
Hans Vasters, Senior Network Architect, REWE Group Austria
"Customers are seeing 55%-70% in OpEx cost reduction and 2000% in bandwidth increase in migrating from legacy Multiprotocol Label Switching to Cisco SD-WAN."
Alexsandro Reimann, Manager of Network Services, Nap-IT Global Network Solutions
"The Catalyst 9000 has exceeded NASA’s mission-critical requirements for security and segmentation...and at twice the performance."
Eric Latta, Solutions Architect, NASA
"SD-WAN on Cisco's ISR 4000 creates a robust, trusted platform on which to quickly realize security and performance benefits with a simple software upgrade."
Rui Pereira, Head of Direct Sales, Altice Portugal
"Security has been top of mind for Adventist Health and Software Defined access-based segmentation has been key to protecting our assets. The Catalyst 9200 fits perfectly with our current Catalyst 9300 deployments, giving us options in our smaller branches and locations."
Ed Vanderpool, Sr. Enterprise Network Engineer, Adventist Health
"Optimal Office 365 performance is achieved by enabling local Internet breakouts for key Office 365 scenarios, from users in the branch directly into Microsoft's global network. Modern SD-WAN solutions, like Cisco's SD-WAN, make it easier for customers to implement this setup, support multiple DIA links, and dynamically choose the best one, improving the Office 365 user experience."
Konstantin Ryvkin, Partner Architect, Microsoft
"Cisco SD-Access solution with Cisco DNA Center, Identity Services Engine, Stealthwatch, and Catalyst 9300 switches help us design, manage, and maintain a policy-based, automated network solution. With it we can rapidly integrate acquisitions, deploy network services, and enhance visibility."
Chuck Furstenau, Manager Network & Telecom, Piedmont Healthcare
"I’ve been impressed with the Cisco DNA Center. It’s reliable , easy to use, and has truly simplified our work."
Daniele De Francesco, Network and Security Engineer, Lutech Group
Customer Services for SDN
Reduce the complexity of transformation and speed adoption of new operations models to accelerate ROI.
What is software-defined networking?
How does a software-defined network work?
Software-defined networking (SDN) is designed to make a network flexible and agile. SDN lets you design, build, and manage networks, separating the control and forwarding planes. As a result, the control plane is directly programmable, and it abstracts the underlying infrastructure for applications and network services.
Network intelligence is logically centralized through programmable SDN controllers. Implemented in software, these controllers maintain a coherent view of the network domain. To applications and policy engines, SDN looks like a single logical switch.
What does SDN consist of?
Software-defined networking (SDN) offers a centralized, programmable network that consists of an SDN controller, southbound APIs, and northbound APIs.
- SDN controllers are the brains of the network, offering a centralized view of the overall network.
- Southbound APIs relay information to the switches and routers in network.
- Northbound APIs communicate with the applications and deploy services.
What are the benefits of SDN?
- Fast and automated application deployment.
- On-demand app delivery and mobility at scale.
- Greater resource flexibility and utilization.
- Reduction of IT costs by enhancing the benefits of data center virtualization.
What is the relationship between SDN and IBN?
Software-defined networks have automated the process of network management.
Intent-based networking adds context, learning, and assurance capabilities by tightly coupling policy with intent. SDN can be a building block of intent-based networking.
What is the relationship between SDN and NFV?
Network function virtualization (NFV) uses hypervisor and cloud-computing technology for network automation and orchestration. NFV works best in the context of network services (OSI Level 4 and up) that require heavy compute power, with low-to-medium bandwidth throughput.
SDN converges the management of network and application services into centralized, extensible orchestration platforms. SDN is optimal for high-throughput network forwarding (OSI Levels 0-3) where bandwidth-intensive workloads need significant traffic management.