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Data center networking with OpenSwitch

Switched On

What Remains at the End

OpenSwitch is currently available in version 0.4. Much has happened since its release just over a year ago – and not just in the technical details. In particular, OpenSwitch, being under the auspices of the Linux Foundation, ensures sustainability and further development. HPE is a renowned manufacturer of switch hardware backing the project.

OpenSwitch is not the only player in the NOS market. Dell, for example, cooperates with Cumulus Networks and has a development of its own on the roadmap: OS 9 (Dell NOS 9) [29] based on NetBSD. Another is VyOS [30], which has a history in the Brocade camp.

The project documentation is quite extensive, with just a few open construction sites. Some examples are even misleading, because they fail to mention much-needed parameters. Elsewhere are references to outdated versions.

At the end of the day, OpenSwitch is a complete open source operating system for switches based on well-known projects such as Yocto or ONIE that offers Linux users easy entry to data center networking.

Infos

  1. OpenSwitch: http://openswitch.net
  2. Network operating system: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?wireId=1989827#.V6WjlHWLTF2
  3. Open networking: http://www.hpe.com/us/en/networking/open-networking.html
  4. Linux Foundation Project: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/announcements/open-vswitch-joins-linux-foundation-open-networking-ecosystem
  5. Linux Foundation: http://www.linuxfoundation.org
  6. Gerrit splash page: http://review.openswitch.net
  7. Git: http://git-scm.com
  8. Gerrit: http://www.gerritcodereview.com
  9. Getting started for developers: http://openswitch.net/develop/develophome
  10. Yocto: http://www.yoctoproject.org
  11. OVF: http://www.dmtf.org/standards/ovf
  12. Explanation of OVF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Virtualization_Format
  13. Virtual appliance: http://openswitch.net/documents/dev/quick-start-virtual
  14. Virtual Disk Format 5.0: http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vddk/vmdk_50_technote.pdf
  15. ONIE: http://onie.org
  16. BusyBox: http://busybox.net
  17. Puppet: http://puppet.com
  18. Chef: http://www.chef.io
  19. Ansible: http://www.ansible.com
  20. Open Compute Project: http://www.opencompute.org
  21. Open Network Install Environment: http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Networking/ONIE
  22. Cumulus: http://cumulusnetworks.com
  23. ONIE overview: http://github.com/opencomputeproject/onie/wiki/Overview
  24. OpenSwitch installation: http://openswitch.net/use/usehome
  25. Quagga: http://www.nongnu.org/quagga
  26. OpenSwitch and Ansible: http://openswitch.net/documents/user/ansible_user_guide
  27. Ansible modules: http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/list_of_network_modules.html
  28. OpenSwitch REST API: http://api.openswitch.net/rest/dist/index.html
  29. OS 9: http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/04/campaigns/dell-networking-os9
  30. VyOS: http://vyos.net/wiki/Main_Page

The Author

Dr. Udo Seidel is a teacher of math and physics. After completing his Ph.D., he worked as a Linux/Unix trainer, system administrator, and senior solution engineer. He is now digital evangelist and chief architect at the Amadeus Data Processing GmbH near Munich.

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