Adding an API to networking hardware doesn’t solve management challenges

Cloud-inspired networks have gained popularity due to their consistent virtual switches, which can be easily integrated with cloud management platforms via APIs. This change in networking operations is heavily influenced by cloud operators, who differ from traditional network operators. Larry and the author learned that operations are often overlooked in network education, despite its importance.

While writing a textbook on edge cloud operations, they realized that their model of operations is influenced by cloud operators' tools and practices, which are distinct from traditional network operators.

The author's networking career spans pre-cloud and cloud-centric eras, with his transition from Cisco to Nicira marking the shift. Cisco's network management projects faced challenges due to inconsistent features across devices and a lack of a unified configuration interface. The author's failed effort to introduce a programmatic API in the late 1990s was hindered by the centrality of the command-line interface (CLI), which required every feature to be configurable via CLI. This created a barrier for implementing secondary configuration interfaces, such as APIs.

The author's realization that putting an API on a device doesn't solve network management problems led him to advocate for better abstractions. He believed that the key was to centralize control over a distributed set of forwarding devices using a software-based controller. This approach, demonstrated by virtual switches in a datacenter network, simplified management by treating network control as a distinct entity from device control.

The success of this model in virtual environments offered a practical solution to the challenges of managing physical switches.