Review: Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for IT Operations: Use Cases, Benefits, and Challenges

The data plane and control plane are kept apart in a novel approach to network management called Software-Defined Networking (SDN). This lets one person control the networks from one place and makes them easier to program. This paper is a review of SDN evolution, architecture and its integration to the Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and its application in IT operations including data centre management, network security, and new technologies including 5G. The study is able to synthesize the main characteristics such as centralized management, automation, scalability, and improved security, as well as present the practical advantages such as agility, cost effectiveness and simplified network administration. Secondly, the paper looks at technical issues such as scalability of controllers, and compatibility with older systems as well as the vulnerability of centralized systems that impede its broad adoption. A review of the recent literature provides a variety of solutions such as traffic analysis frameworks and energy-conscious models up to blockchain-fathered security and distributed control, but most of them are oriented on a single point. This review, through its consolidation of these findings, reveals that there are gaps in the research and that holistic, adaptive, and interoperable SDN frameworks are necessary to support resilient and intelligent IT infrastructures.