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Docker Buys Software-Defined Networking Startup

SocketPlane, which took off just three months ago, will add six SDN experts to the Docker roll.

• By Keith Ward
• 03/04/2015

In what may set a record for the shortest time between startup and buyout, the software-defined networking (SDN) company SocketPlane has been acquired by Docker Inc. in an effort to shore up its networking capabilities.

SocketPlane has only been in existence since last December. It positioned itself upon launch as a specialist in SDN Docker integration, using Open vSwitch to provide networking abstraction at the socket layer.

However, given that SocketPlane lists no products on its Web site, it's obvious that the target of the buyout was not the company, but rather its six employees. They include Madhu Venugopal, John M. Willis, Brent Salisbury and Dave Tucker, "… whose combined experience in SDN, cloud computing and DevOps will elevate the networking abilities in container-based application virtualization," according to a 2014 press release. Docker's newest employees have worked for such industry titans as Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Inc., Red Hat Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., and open source networking specialists like Open vSwitch, the OpenDaylight Project and Open Virtual Network.

Docker Founder and CTO Solomon Hykes verified the rationale in a Docker press release: "To sustain the velocity of community advancements in open, modular and secure Docker networking, we felt we needed to support those efforts with a dedicated team. Given the SocketPlane team's collective experience with virtually every open source SDN effort, we felt they were the right people to carry forward our 'batteries included, but swappable' approach to drive a thriving networking ecosystem."

The acquisition comes as part of Docker's growth beyond just being an open source container system for applications. It's begun adding management support and moving beyond single hosts, scaling up and out to become a more capable enterprise-level technology. But not everyone thinks Docker's expansion is a good thing. A competitor says that Docker has lost sight of its original mission.

SocketPlane was initially staked by Menlo Park, Calif.-based LightSpeed Ventures.