“SDN [software-defined networking] has been around a while but has had a little bit of a problem getting traction in the carrier space. But with the advent of NFV [network functions virtualization], it has become very obvious why we need SDN,” said Prodip Sen, CTO Network Functions Virtualization for Hewlett-Packard Co., during an interview with theCUBE at the Open Daylight Summit in Santa Clara, CA

Summarizing his keynote speech on the relationship between SDN and NFV, Sen explained that the network has to move with the function, and the only way currently known to do this is through the use of SDN techniques, but dynamically changing the connectivity underneath.

“It’s using the programmability that SDN gives you, the programmability of the network, and applying it to the network functions themselves,” Sen told theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s Media production team.

ODL bridges the gap

Sen  described how ODL is one of the mechanisms that “bridges the gap” between SDN and NFV. “ODL builds a controller framework that allows you to control new things – open flow base things – as well as talk to legacy networks and builds abstraction on top of that,” he said.

Separate – virtualize – cloudify – decompose

Listing the process to full Cloudification, Sen told theCUBE that he sees the real value coming in the final stage of decomposition, when applications don’t just work in the cloud, but are natively Cloud ready: “You can develop new services, change them faster, and give them to the consumer faster.”

Watch the full interview with Prodip Sen below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of OpenDaylight Summit 2015.

Photo by SiliconANGLE