TD 26 (PLEN/13)

Software Defined Networking (SDN) and network virtualization are among promising technologies because they enable network operators to divide networks into partitions to make problem size smaller, and to control their networks in unified, programmable manner. This realizes multiple isolated and flexible networks in order to support a broad range of network architectures, services, and users that do not interfere with others. It is considered as one of the key technologies for FNs, and various SDOs have started to study these technologies in intensive manner, but overall framework that covers all telecom industry has not yet been defined. And there are other approaches to mitigate the diversity and complexity by e.g., introducing easily-manageable network architecture such as carefully-designed decentralization and autonomicity.

The Recommendations that specifies framework, service scenarios, requirements, and architecture of service-aware networking, in particular network virtualization and SDN technologies, fall under the responsibility of this question. As for SDN, the focus is on common part of SDN that is applicable to various networks, and its application to future networks.

Question

Study items to be considered, but not limited to:

• Requirements for the architecture to manage and to operate exploding and diversifying services and supporting functions in particular SDN and network virtualization

• Analysis of gaps between SDN, service-aware networking and existing standards and/or technologies

• Approaches, architectures and mechanisms for highly-scalable and distributed SDN and service-aware networking easy to control, operate and manage

• Issues and solutions for migrating from current IP-based network to SDN and service aware networking.

Tasks

Tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Produce new Recommendations on requirements, functional architecture and mechanisms of generic SDN, its application to future networks, and service aware networking.

• Produce Recommendations on general overview of service aware networking

Relationships

Recommendations:

• Y.3011, Y-series Recommendations

Questions:

• All SDN and FN related Questions

Study Groups:

• ITU-T Study Groups involved in SDN and FN studies

Standardization bodies, fora and consortia:

• ISO/IEC JTC1 SC 6

• ETSI ISG Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)

• Open Networking Foundation

• IETF/IRTF

• TMF

• BBF

And that’s “all she wrote” about ITU-T standardization of SDN and Network Virtualization