Antrea suits teams operating Kubernetes workloads that need pod networking, policy controls, diagnostics, or multi-cluster federation.
Free plan Open source WindowsLinuxAPISelf-hosted
- Home
- IT & Infrastructure
- Software-Defined Networking Software
Best Software-Defined Networking Software 2026
Software-defined networking software gives you ways to manage network control and policy through software. Compare control-plane and deployment models, supported protocols, and policy segmentation to see how each option describes its approach. A managed device limit and northbound API support are additional considerations, alongside free-plan availability and paid-from pricing. TP-Link Omada Cloud-Based Controller, Cisco Catalyst Center, and OpenDaylight are among the options to weigh. Consider the infrastructure you need to manage and which control or integration capabilities matter, then use the listed details to compare how each product may fit your network environment.
02
ONOS
ONOS is aimed at teams controlling service-provider networks, and may also suit data-center or campus network settings.
WebMacLinux+2 Record4.9 Visit
03
TP-Link Omada Cloud-Based Controller
AndroidiPhone & iPadWeb Record4.8 Visit
04
OpenDaylight
OpenDaylight suits teams and developers who need programmable network control and monitoring across supported network environments.
WindowsMacLinux+2 Record4.7 Visit
05
Cilium
Cilium suits teams managing workload networking and security in Linux-based environments, including Kubernetes deployments.
LinuxSelf-hosted Record4.4 Visit
6
Kube-OVN
LinuxAPISelf-hosted Free plan Record4.4 Visit Kube-OVN suits Kubernetes environments needing multi-tenant networking or KubeVirt support.
7
Open Virtual Network
LinuxSelf-hosted Free plan Record4.4 Visit OVN is intended for cloud management software used with virtual machine and container environments.
8
TeraFlowSDN
WebLinuxAPI+1 Free plan Record4.4 Visit TeraFlowSDN suits telecommunications operators, vendors, research institutions, and research initiatives working on smart networks and services.
9
Faucet
LinuxSelf-hosted Free plan Record4.3 Visit It suits network operators using compatible OpenFlow hardware who want vendor-independent, self-hosted control and monitoring.
10
Ryu SDN Framework
LinuxAPISelf-hosted Free plan Record4.3 Visit Ryu suits developers creating software-defined networking management and control applications.
12
Calico Enterprise
WebWindowsLinux+1 — Record3.9 Visit It is intended for organizations that want a self-managed Kubernetes platform for network security and observability.
13
Netris
WebLinuxAPI+1 — Record3.9 Visit Netris is aimed at AI infrastructure operators managing multi-tenant networks across the listed network types.
15
OpenStack Neutron
LinuxAPISelf-hosted Free Record3.7 Visit Neutron is aimed at OpenStack administrators deploying and managing networking, especially those with sufficient Linux experience.
17
HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer
WebAPISelf-hosted — Record3.6 Visit Fabric Composer suits infrastructure teams managing HPE Aruba CX networks alongside compute, storage, virtualization, and security policies.
18
Ericsson Billing
API — Record3.5 Visit It is intended for communications providers, from growing operators to mature businesses with complex IT environments and large subscriber bases.
19
Isovalent Enterprise for Cilium
LinuxSelf-hosted — Record3.5 Visit It suits teams operating Linux, self-hosted, hybrid infrastructure that need network policy, observability, runtime security, and multi-cluster connectivity.
More in IT & Infrastructure
IT Asset Management Software 112IT Automation Software 77Residential Proxy Services 74IT Knowledge Base Software 60Website Monitoring Software 55IT SLA Management Software 50IT Help Desk Software 49Patch Management Software 49Identity and Access Management Software 45Application Deployment Software 44IT Change Management Software 43IT Release Management Software 42Zero Trust Network Access Software 42IT Vendor Management Software 41CMDB Software 39Competitor Price Monitoring Software 39Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software 39IT Problem Management Software 39