Facebook, Google and Big Switch Networks to Demonstrate Open Source Collaboration with Next-Gen Network Operating Systems During OCP Summit Keynote

Big Switch expands Open Network Linux hardware certification program with ONL Certified Gold platforms from HPE, Edgecore Networks, Quanta, and DNI


SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Big Switch Networks®, the Next-generation Data Center Networking Company, will present an OCP Summit keynote with Facebook and Google, to demonstrate three different approaches to building Network Operating Systems (NOSs), each built with Open Network Linux (ONL), and all running on Open Compute Project (OCP) switch hardware. Big Switch is also introducing the ONL Certified Gold program that provides continuous validation of ONL versions on designated britebox and whitebox platforms, providing assurance to organizations adopting ONL of complete code validation.

Teams from the three organizations will demo Google’s NOS supporting P4 Runtime, Facebook’s FBOSS-based NOS and Big Switch’s BGP-based concept NOS. This demonstration highlights the breadth of innovation in large scale data center networking, each is built with Open Network Linux as the foundational NOS component and running on OCP 100G open networking switch hardware. All three can perform Layer-3 networking (routing):

  • The Google demo shows this with centralized SDN controllers and P4 programming
  • The Facebook demo shows this with the Thrift protocol
  • The Big Switch demo shows this with an industry-standard BGP protocol

Using modular, interchangeable software and hardware components, this demonstration points to multiple open source networking innovations, including:

  • Open source programming model on ONL-based OCP switches
  • Multiple open source forwarding agents on Open Network Linux
  • Multiple open source NOSs on ONL-based OCP switches

“The vision for ONL since its inception was a departure from the monolithic Network Operating Systems of the past. The goal is to allow organizations to share code in some parts of the system while innovating independently in others. With one demonstration, we are showing ONL being used for systems ranging from traditional BGP through new innovations like Open/R and P4,” said Kyle Forster, Founder, Big Switch Networks. “There is a fast growing list of hyperscale data center operators, open source projects and networking vendors that are packaging ONL with their own innovative forwarding agents and management software, running it on open networking hardware, and using it in some of the largest networks ever built. Our industry is in a renaissance; it is an exciting time to be in networking.”

Open Source Open Networking Innovations and Benefits
Unlike innovations within compute, where disaggregation of server hardware from OS and applications have been the status quo for more than two decades, incumbent, legacy networking vendors have continued to push proprietary, monolithic hardware/software networking systems.  In contrast, hyperscale organizations -- driven by the need for speed, capex reduction, opex efficiency and vendor freedom began to innovate on their own by developing custom NOSs on open networking hardware platforms.

In 2014 OCP initiated a standards-based approach to open networking for both hardware and software. Since then, ONL has become a critical NOS component, accelerating open networking innovations and adoption in the hyperscale community. Today, networking solutions based on ONL are delivering speed, freedom and economics and have been adopted by hundreds of data center organizations, across hyperscalers, service providers, mainstream enterprises, and SaaS/cloud providers.

This demonstration in open source networking innovations delivers multiple benefits to data center organizations:

  • Hyperscale organizations can rapidly leverage an expanded ONL Certified™ OCP switch vendor ecosystem for their own NOSs
  • SaaS, Telecom and cloud providers, who want to be free of legacy networking lock-in and dramatically reduce CAPEX & OPEX can easily customize an existing open source NOS stack for their deployments. When compared to the legacy closed-NOS approach, these organizations experience order of magnitude improvements in choice, agility, flexibility, cost reduction and control
  • Innovation-driven enterprises can leverage open source NOS on OCP/ONL certified platforms for their digital transformation initiatives to demonstrate unprecedented agility, dramatic cost reduction and complete control through vendor-agnostic architecture

Networking software and hardware suppliers also benefit with demonstrated advances in open source networking:

  • Networking Software/NOS suppliers leveraging ONL and OCP switches can focus on software innovations at higher layers of the networking stack, instead of spending development resources on maintaining cross-platform OS and APIs. Switch hardware suppliers with OCP and ONL certified platforms can rapidly expand footprint with a rich set of multi-vendor NOS support, thus competing on better hardware designs and breadth of platform offerings

Open Network Linux (ONL) Advancements
ONL -- an OCP networking project -- is an open source Linux distribution, built for open networking hardware platforms with a unique architecture for pluggable 'forwarding agent' and ‘device management’ software. It acts as a foundational component for end-users who want to build their own Network Operating System (NOS) on top of open networking switches. ONL has been validated on 68 open networking platforms across 11 whitebox/britebox suppliers. It is production hardened and is deployed in hundreds of large SaaS, telecom and enterprise data centers.

ONL is embedded in multiple open networking solutions:

  • Big Switch’s Big Cloud Fabric™ (BCF) and Big Monitoring Fabric™ (Big Mon), commercial SDN fabric solutions providing data center switching and monitoring, are based on ONL. ONL is fully tested and also updated for security vulnerabilities with every release of Big Switch’s production-grade BCF and Big Mon solutions
  • Hyperscalers have developed optimized forwarding agents on ONL to meet the needs of some of the most dynamic and efficient networks in the world
  • Facebook’s open source FBOSS is deployed with ONL on Wedge-40, Wedge-100 and Wedge-100S open networking OCP switches
  • Open source initiatives such as the Open Networking Foundation’s CORD (Central Office Re-architected as Datacenter) and Stratum leverage ONL to rapidly on-board multi-vendor open networking hardware platforms

"The Open Network Foundation’s Stratum and CORD projects both leverage Open Network Linux in order to seamlessly on-board multi-vendor open networking hardware platforms. The availability of open source foundational components, such as ONL, in a networking stack are essential building blocks for both projects, which will further accelerate adoption of open networking solutions." Guru Parulkar, executive director, Open Networking Foundation and executive director, Stanford Platform Lab.

At OCP Summit, Big Switch is demonstrating open source networking innovations with an ONL-based concept NOS, integrated with a BGP-based forwarding stack (FRRouting/FRR) for building Layer-3 open networking fabrics. SaaS organizations, service providers, mid-scale cloud providers and large enterprises are increasingly looking to open source networking solutions to gain further control, agility and freedom. By leveraging a hardened ONL substrate and a broad hardware ecosystem, this concept NOS demonstration provides transformation-minded organizations a fast-start in creating their own custom NOS.

ONL Certification Program
Big Switch is introducing an ONL certification program to broaden the open networking hardware partner ecosystem and further accelerate adoption of multi-vendor open networking solutions. A networking hardware partner can now choose to certify each open networking platform as ONL Certified or ONL Certified™ Gold. ONL Certified Gold provides ongoing testing and validation of ONL on approved platforms. HPE, Edgecore Networks, Quanta Cloud Technologies (QCT), and Delta Networks, Inc. (DNI) each have multiple platforms that are ONL Certified Gold. A complete ONL hardware compatibility list (HCL) with ONL certification status is available: https://opennetlinux.org/hcl.

“As Open Network Linux adoption accelerates, we wanted to ensure there was a foundation in place for open networking hardware vendors to achieve certification designation and enable broader hardware choice for hyperscale operators, enterprise and service provider end-users,” said Prashant Gandhi, Chief Product Officer, Big Switch Networks. “The ONL Certification program will provide added structure to the ONL open source project, ensuring continued networking innovation as well as end-user acceptance of open networking solutions.”

ONL’s Open Networking Hardware Ecosystem includes the following:

  • Platform suppliers: Alpha, Celestica, Dell EMC, Delta Networks, Edgecore, HPE, Ingrasys, Inventec, Mellanox, Netberg, Quanta.
  • Platforms: 48x1G + 4x10G, 48x10G + 6x40G, 48x10G + 4x100G, 48x25G + 6x100G, 32x40G, 64x40G and 32x100G.

Learn More at OCP Summit
The OCP Summit Keynote Demo: Facebook, Google and Big Switch Demo Next-gen NOS Based on OCP’s Open Network Linux, will take place Tues. March 20th, at 9:59 am, it will be presented by:

  • Rob Sherwood, Facebook
  • Vivek Shah, Google
  • Kyle Forster, Big Switch Networks

Facebook, Google and Big Switch will also participate in the Networking Track round-table: OCP Network Stack: Common Components for Three Very Different Use Cases on Weds. March 21st, 1:00pm - 1:30pm.

To learn more about Open Network Linux visit Booth #C18 at OCP Summit.

Resources
Open Network Linux: https://opennetlinux.org/
ONL: Hardware Compatibility List
ONL: Certification
Big Switch Website: ONL: Delivering Freedom and Innovation for Next-Gen NOSs
Webinar: OCP ’18 Trends: Next-Gen Network OS Architecture based on OCP’s Open Network Linux

Supporting Quotes
“Open Network Linux, one of our open source software projects in OCP, is an incredibly important building block in achieving architectural freedom.  The OCP Summit keynote demonstration with Google, Facebook and Big Switch highlights the advancements that continue to be made with open networking and shows how the ONL project is working with other OCP projects.” Bill Carter, CTO, Open Compute Project. “ONL has meaningfully contributed to the accelerated adoption of open network switch hardware, we believe the ONL certification program will further broaden the open networking ecosystem.”

“We fully support the mission of Open Network Linux, and see it as a change agent for innovation within the open hardware ecosystem and believe it plays a vital role in providing flexibility to organizations looking to achieve architectural freedom. HPE is pleased to be one of the first ONL Certified Gold switch hardware vendors within in the ONL ecosystem. This program will act as a catalyst to further accelerate OCP’s vision of transforming networking through openness and global community." Dave Larson, VP and GM Data Center Networking at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

"Edgecore has supported ONL on our entire portfolio of OCP-ACCEPTED™ and open network switches for years, and we are pleased now to be an ONL Certified Gold partner,” said George Tchaparian, CEO of Edgecore Networks and GM of Open Networking at Accton Technology. “ONL has accelerated open networking adoption, with many of our commercial software partners leveraging ONL to deliver solutions for a broad set of use cases with our open network switches.  In addition, Edgecore has enabled service providers to deploy open technology in CORD and access network infrastructures by packaging ONL with other open source software components on our open network switches, virtual OLTs and open packet transponders.”

“QCT is a firm believer in the advantages of open hardware; we're pleased to support Open Network Linux on our multiple switch platforms and to be one of the first ONL Certified Gold vendors,” said Mike Yang, SVP of Quanta Computer Inc. and President of Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT). “The maturity and depth of the ONL ecosystem gives us the confidence to leverage ONL for our QuantaMesh bare-metal switch product line so our customers have a simplified network deployment experience, backed by a solid standard Linux distribution.”

"Multiple DNI platforms have been validated with ONL, and we are pleased to be one of the first vendors to receive the ONL-gold designation.” David Fermor, Vice President of Engineering, Delta Electronics, Inc. “We have been advocates of the ONL project for quite some time as we believe it will help push forward adoption of multi-vendor open networking solutions, which deliver freedom of choice via flexible hardware and software, resulting in greater innovation for organizations globally."

About Big Switch Networks
Big Switch Networks is the Next-Generation Data Center Networking Company. We disrupt the status quo of networking by designing intelligent, automated, and flexible networks for our customers around the world.  We do so by leveraging the principles of software-defined networking (SDN), coupled with a choice of industry-standard hardware. Big Switch Networks has two solutions: Big Monitoring Fabric, a next-generation network packet broker, which enables pervasive security and monitoring of data center and cloud traffic for inline or out-of-band deployments and Big Cloud Fabric, the industry's first next-generation switching fabric that allows for choice of switching hardware for OpenStack, VMware, Container, and Big Data use cases. Big Switch Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. For additional information, email info@bigswitch.com, visit www.bigswitch.com or follow us on Twitter @bigswitch, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Big Switch Networks, the Big Switch Logo, Big Cloud Fabric, Big Monitoring Fabric, BigSecure, Big Chain, Switch Light OS, Switch Light VX, ONL Certified, and ONL Certified Gold are trademarks or registered trademarks of Big Switch Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered marks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Media & Analyst Contact:
Kate Lehman
kate.lehman@bigswitch.com
(650) 322-6510