The first question most readers of an O’Reilly book might ask is about the choice of the
cover animal. In this case, “why a duck?” Well, for the record, our first choice was a
unicorn decked out in glitter and a rainbow sash.
That response always gets a laugh (we are sure you just giggled a little), but it also brings
to the surface a common perception of software-defined networks among many expe‐
rienced network professionals. Although we think there is some truth to this perception,
there is certainly more meat than myth to this unicorn.
