SDN and NFV Simplified: A Visual Guide to Understanding Software Defined Networks and Network Function Virtualization

19. The Evolution of the Data Center Network

To this point in the book, the focus has been on virtualization of servers and transformation data centers, which began in the early 1990s. During the time period when these second-generation data centers came on line, and then began to “max out,” the industry was also making enormous strides in increasing networking capability. With fixed network connectivity providing almost every employee with access to application servers (and to each other), the demand on these data centers began to rise, creating more and more stress on networks as many more users began to rely on them. Newly formed data center networking teams, which split off from IT and core networking teams, implemented hierarchical designs ...