The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), a user-driven organization focused on the promotion and adoption of Software-defined Networking (SDN) through open standards development, has awarded NEC Corporation (NEC) with the first Certificate of Conformance offered through the ONF’s OpenFlow Conformance Testing Program. A Certificate of Conformance from ONF is the highest level of assurance available in the market today to confirm OpenFlow specification compliance.
Dan Pitt, ONF Executive Director, presents Don Clark, Director of Business Strategy, NEC Corporation, and Fabian Schneider, Vice Chair of the ONF Architecture Working Group, and Senior Researcher at NEC Labs, with the Certificate of Conformance
NEC’s ProgrammableFlow® Switches PF5240 and the PF5248 both earned the OpenFlow Switch Specification 1.0.1 certificate. Testing of NEC’s switches was conducted by the Indiana Center for Translational Research and Education (InCNTRE). The ONF OpenFlow Conformance Testing program was introduced in July 2013, and works with independent labs approved for ONF testing. Once the test specification requirements are met, the certificate of conformance is issued, validating that a company is using current technology and is guaranteed to accurately implement the OpenFlow specification.
When the program was first rolled out, Rick Bauer, technical program manager at ONF, commented: “the ONF OpenFlow Conformance Program underscores an organization’s dedication to end users. The program assures that the products purchased and implemented are deployment-ready for end users’ networking environments, as well as future-looking for compatibility with the increasing number of SDN solutions built on an OpenFlow foundation.” He concluded that “the certified products deliver predictable results, reinforcing the end users’ overall confidence in the vendor.”
This certification from ONF underlines NEC’s commitment to OpenFlow standards and to innovative network solutions. Vendors with certified products assert their commitment to both the OpenFlow specification and the benefits it provides customers, including interoperability and best-of-breed network solutions resulting in cost-effective networks delivering business agility.
It is interesting to note that Red Hat previously certified NEC ProgrammableFlow Networking Suite for the OpenStack Neutron plug-in. And earlier this year the ProgrammableFlow virtual switch for Hyper-V, the PF1000, was certified by the Microsoft Server 2012 team.
To pilot NEC’s ProgrammableFlow Networking Suite and the certified switches, please contact your NEC account manager or your local NEC reseller. More information on NEC’s award-winning SDN solutions can also be found at www.necam.com/sdn.
And clearly our efforts have not gone unnoticed. SearchNetworking announced last week they had awarded NEC ProgrammableFlow network suite with their first ever 
As I mentioned, Version 3 of NEC’s ProgrammableFlow OpenFlow Fabric features end-to-end Quality of Service design and network management-all from the centralized console or API integrated into the ProgrammableFlow controller. This capability, unique to ProgrammableFlow and illustrated here, was extremely well received when we covered the enhancements with industry watchers. They instantly recognized the opportunity for significant operational time-savings, as enterprises and data centers offload configuration work to the automation of ProgrammableFlow. Network administrators can now re-deploy their time and skills to strategic projects, again positioning the network to be more fully responsive to the needs of the business. And with Version 3 we are deploying a Web API using REST protocol.