OpenFlow Switches & Vendors for SDN

OpenFlow emerged as the "standard" protocol to manage the forwarding planes in a SDN enabled Switch. Several SDN Whitebox switches in the market support OpenFlow protocol. This article captures a few OpenFlow Switch Vendors in the market. OpenFlow Switches are deployed in Software Defined Networks (SDNs) for data forwarding. The flow tables in the OpenFlow Switches are managed by the OpenFlow Controllers. 

Also read:

SDN Basics / 101
List of OpenFlow Controllers
OpenFlow Test Suites & Tools
SDN in Transport Networks - Challenges, Solutions and Benefits

Plexxi

The Plexxi Switch is the first SDN-based Ethernet switch that integrates the power and flexibility of high density optical multiplexing technology to create rich bandwidth, low-latency, adaptable data center networks for clouds and dynamic data centers. Visit: www.plexxi.com

HP

HP supports OpenFlow on 25 switch models.
HP claims that over 15 million installed ports in HP switches are OpenFlow capable. They offer a free upgrade to their OpenFlow enabled software. Visit www.hp.com

Pica8


Pica8™ open switches meet the demands of traditional network architectures and deliver the flexibility and adaptability for software defined networking (SDN). Ideal for cloud and virtualized data centers, Pica8's switches seamlessly integrate with today's data center applications, while allowing the exploration of new SDN technologies. Visit: www.pica8.com

Indigo

Indigo is an open source project to support OpenFlow on a range of physical switches. By leveraging hardware features of Ethernet switch ASICs, Indigo supports high rates for high port counts, up to 48 10-gigabit ports. Visit: http://www.openflowhub.org/display/Indigo/Indigo+-+Open+Source+OpenFlow+Switches

NEC

NEC's ProgrammableFlow Switch is a powerful, hybrid, multi-layer switch. It can integrate into a legacy environment. Or it functions fully with OpenFlow-enabled benefits behind NEC’s ProgrammableFlow Controller. Visit: http://www.necam.com/SDN/

IBM

IBM's Rackswitch G8264 is optimized for High Performance Computing and other applications requiring high bandwidth and low latency. OpenFlow enabled, making user-controlled virtual networks easy to create, optimizing performance dynamically and minimizing complexity. Visit: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/switches/rack/g8264/

Extreme Networks

Extreme Networks has added OpenFlow support across its entire product portfolio.  This allows networks with Extreme Switches to be provisioned into multiple logical networks from Layer 2 to Layer 7 which in turn can be mapped to applications and tenants, as well as the associated security and access policies. Visit: http://www.extremenetworks.com/solutions/datacenter_sdn.aspx

Brocade

The Brocade MLX Series of advanced routers delivers unprecedented scale and performance, high reliability, and cost-saving operational efficiency for the world's most demanding service provider and enterprise networks. With OpenFlow support in true hybrid mode, the Brocade MLX Series delivers industry-leading 10 GbE and 100 GbE density for software-defined networks in conjunction with traditional routing, providing flexible flow control to respond to dynamic traffic patterns and address business needs. Visit: http://www.brocade.com/products/all/routers/product-details/netiron-xmr-series/index.page

Juniper

Juniper has developed an OpenFlow switch application based on OpenVswitch (OF 1.0) code, called the OF-APP. It can be installed in MX-series router platforms using JUNOS-SDK. Once installed, new configuration options are provided through which specific ports can be put under control of an external OpenFlow controller. Any OpenFlow 1.0 compliant controller implementation can be used to controller the JUNOS OpenFlow switch application. Visit: https://developer.juniper.net/content/dam/jdn/Programmable%20Networks/OpenFLow_APP_JDN_Overview.pdf

Also read:

SDN startups

SDN acquisitions