SEOUL, KOREA – SK Telecom has become the first Korean telecoms carrier that obtained an OpenFlow controller technology, therefore setting off heated competition for next-generation networks such as SDN (software-defined networking) among telecoms operators.
On Tuesday, the Korean telecoms industry announced that SK Telecom successfully developed its own OpenFlow controller by exploiting Floodlight, a SDN controller open-sourced by the US’s Big Switch Networks.
In the process of acquiring this technology, SK Telecom also secured a number of applicable network technologies including controls on virtual networks.
SDN broadly refers to a set of techniques that simplify networking and enable new applications, such as network virtualization (e.g. virtual switches and routers). OpenFlow, an enabler of SDN, is an open standard network protocol that enables data exchanges between the control plane and the data plane.
Since October of last year, SK Telecom has run an OpenFlow test bed in its office building in Bundang.
Once OpenFlow is applied to networks, telecoms operators can implement applications and control functions at need.
Sean Chung (hbpark@etnews.com)
**Article provided by etnews [Korea IT News]
[Reference] : http://english.etnews.com/electronics/2715655_1303.html
