Friday, October 9, 2015

Big Switch, Facebook and NTT Demo Open Network Linux

Big Switch Networks, Facebook and NTT have jointly demonstrated Open Network Linux, integrating key components of the Open Compute Project.

The demonstration and code repository showed pluggable forwarding agents including:

  • FBOSS (used by Facebook) built on Broadcom's OpenNSL Library
  • L3 Routing (used by NTT)
  • OpenFlow (used by Big Switch Networks)

Pluggable forwarding agents are seen as a key innovation in Open Network Linux.

Open Network Linux was originally contributed to OCP by Big Switch Networks, a Gold level member, in March 2014. Hardware compatibility has grown to include 15+ open switch hardware platforms used in hyperscale data centers, including Facebook's Wedge switch and Accton's Edgecore AS5712-54X and AS6712-32X switches, and Dell's 4048 and S6000 open networking switches.

"There is a rich set of switch software components now available as open source via the Open Compute Project's networking track, but the integration was such a challenge that they were really out of reach for most organizations. With Open Network Linux, this is no longer the case," said Rob Sherwood, Big Switch CTO and co-creator of Open Network Linux. "At the same time, I'm proud that this architecture strikes the right balance of shared code and pluggable agents. We are unifying disparate efforts in the hyperscale networking development community without locking anyone into any specific architecture."

"We're glad to see Big Switch Networks providing Open Network Linux on top of Wedge, as well as making it easier for companies to plug in OCP and open source packages like FBOSS," said Omar Baldonado, Manager of Networking at Facebook. "This development will encourage more organizations to try out the benefits of open source networking and disaggregated networking models."

http://www.bigswitch.com
http://opennetlinux.org

Facebook Shows its Yosemite Open Source Modular


At the Open Compute Summit in San Jose, Facebook introduced its "Yosemite" open source, modular chassis for high-powered microservers. Key design elements to the system: A server-class SoC with multiple memory channels, which provides high-performance computing in 65W TDP for SoC and 90W for the whole server card. A standard SoC card interface to provide a CPU-agnostic system interface. A platform-agnostic system management solution to manage...

Facebook Releases FBOSS Open Switching System


Facebook released its open switching system (code-named “FBOSS”) on GitHub. The initial release consists primarily of the FBOSS agent, a daemon that runs on each switch and manages the hardware forwarding ASIC. It receives information via configuration files and thrift APIs and then programs the correct forwarding and routing entries into the chip. It also processes packets from the ASIC that are destined to the switch itself, such as control plane...

UNH-IOL Publishes Open Compute List

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has released an Open Networking Integrator’s List public directory of independently validated, interoperable combinations of networking products that are based on Open Compute Specifications.

The list is based on successful completion of interoperability and conformance tests performed at the laboratory’s most recent Open Networking Plugfest, held September 21-25, 2015 at the UNH-IOL. Devices tested during the Open Networking Plugfest included network operating system (NOS) software, 10G and 40G switches, optical modules, active optical cables, and direct attached copper cables.

Participants included 3M, Accton Technology Corporation, Amphenol, Avago, Big Switch Networks, Cumulus Networks, FCI, Finisar, FlexOptix, HP, Lumentum and Mellanox Technologies. The UNH-IOL collaborated on this event and two previous Open Compute Plugfests with the OCP Networking Project, creating tests for disaggregated and open technologies in data center networking. The outcomes of testing performed by the UNH-IOL will build confidence in open networking components, drive expanded choices, reduce costs and enable rapid innovation in the networking arena.

“There is a large community of vendors that believe in open networking and are willing to prove their interoperability in an open fashion,” said Carlos Cardenas, co-chair of the OCP Networking Project. “The results of everything happening here will alter the networking industry by improving customer confidence and increase adoption of open networking.”

https://www.iol.unh.edu/