Being familiar with existing tools is one of the first steps we can take to prepare our network. As the old saying goes, we don't know what we don't know. By studying the existing framework and tools, we can start to evaluate them against our own network needs. For example, if your company already has lots of Java developers, you might want to take a look at Floodlight controller, which is written in Java. If you prefer to have strong vendor support, OpenDaylight projects might have an edge over OpenFlow. Of course, understanding a technology does not mean agreement, but it does give you a solid ground for evaluation of the pros and cons of each. A healthy debate between team members holding different points of view will usually result in better decisions.

Of course, with the speed of technological development, there is practically no way we can be experts in every framework and tool. More importantly, we can't fall into the traps of 'paralysis by analysis', where we over analyse a technology, so much so that we end up not making a decision at all. Personally, I would recommend going relatively deep into something that interests you while having at least a passing interest in similar technologies. For me, I choose to go deeper into Ryu and POX controller for OpenFlow. From there, I am able to compare and contrast the two controllers with other controllers and technologies that perform similar functions. This way, we can evaluate with confidence and yet not spend 100 percent of our time analyzing.