Software-defined Networks (SDNs) focus on segregating which elements?

• A. Separates network systems into three components: raw data, how the data is sent, and what purpose the data serves. This involves a focus on data, control, and application (management) functions or 'planes'.
• B. A hardware-only network management framework.
• C. A standard for wireless network communication.
• D. A protocol for routing in traditional networks.

Answer: (A)

The main idea tested is the separation of network functions into planes: the data plane that forwards traffic, the control plane that makes decisions about where traffic should go, and the application/management plane that hosts policies and applications. SDN decouples the control plane from the data plane, letting a centralized controller determine paths and push forwarding rules to devices via APIs. The option describes this split as raw data, how the data is sent, and the purpose the data serves—the data plane, control plane, and application/management plane—which aligns with SDN’s approach of centralized, programmable network control.

The other statements describe concepts that don’t fit SDN’s architecture: a hardware-only framework lacks the software-defined and centralized control aspect; a standard for wireless networking doesn’t capture the plane separation; a traditional routing protocol implies distributed decisions rather than centralized control by a controller.