HP (HPQ) has added its name to the list of official backers of OpenDaylight, the open source software-defined networking (SDN) project supported by the Linux Foundation.  HP is now a platinum member of the project.

The Linux Foundation, which sponsors OpenDaylight as a collaborative project, is welcoming the addition of HP to the line-up of vendors helping to lead OpenDaylight — which already includes Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft and Red Hat as platinum members — as a sign of industry convergence around OpenDaylight as the SDN platform of choice.

“We are seeing all the major players aligning their SDN strategies around OpenDaylight. HP will be another galvanizing force for the project and industry, bringing the spirit of partnership and collaboration that has made them so successful,” Neela Jacques, executive director, OpenDaylight, said in a statement.

As part of HP’s agreement to become a platinum OpenDaylight member, Sarwar Raza, director of cloud networking and SDN, HP Networking, will join OpenDaylight’s board of directors. David Lenrow, distinguished architect, HP, will also join OpenDaylight’s Technical Steering Committee. And HP will offer support to the OpenDaylight project in the form of employee resources, according to a statement from the Linux Foundation.

OpenDaylight, which issued its first software release (called Hydrogen) last February, remains young.  At the same time, SDN is in a rapid state of evolution.  The form that SDN solutions will ultimately take when they see widespread adoption within the channel therefore remains uncertain, but OpenDaylight has enjoyed a great deal of endorsement in recent months from major industry partners — which is a positive sign that the future of SDN may indeed prove as open as the Linux Foundation is trying to assure through the OpenDaylight project.