For Google, software defined networking represented a better way of moving traffic between its global data centers.

FORBES: Google Unveils Secret, Worldwide Networking Project

Google is not alone in its embrace of software defined networking but it is the first company to have implemented it on such an enormous scale.

FORBES: Google Unveils Secret, Worldwide Networking Project

The protocol, which was initially conceived by a graduate student at Stanford University named Martin Casado, represents a new way to control network switches and routers that has come to be known as software defined networking, or SDN.

FORBES: Google Unveils Secret, Worldwide Networking Project

That is causing network bottlenecks and creating opportunities for technology called software-defined networking, or SDN.

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For the past couple of year, Cisco has been working hard on its SDN strategy, also known as software-defined networking.

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The approach aligns with the trend toward SDN (software-defined networking) and NFV (network function virtualization) among telecommunications operators, thanks to its elastic and virtualization-friendly cloud architecture.

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As the networking world transitions towards flatter and more scalable software-defined architectures to better a commodate the growing need for data, Juniper is looking to embrace the trend in a way that stops its hardware business from being commoditized completely.

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