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Fighting Vendor Lock-in, Brocade Offers Free One-Year License for SDN Controller

• By David Ramel
• 01/21/2015

The latest move to help companies test the software-defined networking (SDN) waters comes from Brocade Communications Systems Inc., which yesterday announced a free, one-year license for its new Vyatta Controller.

To give enterprise developers a head start with the emerging technology, the company also announced a developer edition of the controller featuring templates, libraries and testing environments. Brocade launched the controller last September, claiming that it was the first commercial product built directly with OpenDaylight source code without any added proprietary extensions or platform dependencies.

Brocade said the openness of its controller -- it's a "quality-assured edition" of the open source OpenDaylight controller -- makes it more attractive to developers seeking to avoid vendor lock-in. "The Brocade Vyatta Controller is free of proprietary extensions, so developers can be assured that their applications will run on any other OpenDaylight-based controller," the company said. "In addition, developers retain full intellectual property rights to the applications they build."

The free one-year license lets companies manage up to five non-production network nodes -- physical or virtual -- with 60 days of access to technical assistance, with experts to help developers solve problems in projects ranging from simple automation scripts to complex service-based apps. A production license for the controller costs $100 per attached node per year, including support.

In addition to technical support, other services include certified education via instructor-led courses and professional services wherein subject matter experts can provide consulting assistance, working directly with users and developers to set up environments and get applications to work correctly.

"The industry's transition to the New IP requires an open, software-driven strategy in order to maximize the benefits of Big Data, cloud, mobile and social initiatives," Brocade said. "An open-source SDN solution provides greater innovation, interoperability and choice while eliminating costly vendor lock-in.

"However, adopting a new networking approach often requires unique expertise. According to GigaOm Research, a majority of organizations interested in open source SDN want to get the technology from a commercial provider to lower their adoption risks and ensure that they receive reliable support -- a key part of the Brocade approach to open source SDN."