Network orchestration

Network orchestration is our last section of this book.

There are different definitions available for orchestration, but all different ideas and designations have a common concept for orchestration, and that is, automation and integration of a network with other systems.

Especially in data centers and cloud platforms, network orchestration is the ability of self-service applications and services to program the network in order to provide the required networking functions. For example, consider you have a self-service portal in order to purchase a new virtually routed network or load balancer; after the completion of the purchase, the system provisions the required services without administrator or human interaction.

Network orchestration can start with customer service orders that are generated manually or through automatic actions, such as ordering a service through a website. The application or service would then use network orchestration to automatically provision the...