Navigating towards software defined networking

I listened to the last SDN podcast that was on El Reg because I wanted to better understand what Software Defined Networking was, even if I had to skip through minutes of mutual appreciation and holiday stories there were some real gems in there.

The main take away that I got from the last podcast was that Software Defined Networking is being over complicated. In its first phase it should just be about unifying management in the same way that so many products are already managed, it shouldn't be about dynamic real-time packet routing as much as it should be about avoiding console management and proprietary tools. I despair that the network industry is taking ages to deploy this type of management on traditional "managed" workgroup switches, it is hardly a challenge. Instead the big boys are promoting advanced data centre solutions which just gratify those with deep pockets. Until the likes of TP-Link, D-Link and Netgear start doing stuff this won't be attractive to my eyes.