Accton Technology has contributed switch software to Atrium, the Open Network Foundation’s new open source SDN distribution for OpenFlow-based SDN deployments.
Specifically, Accton’s contribution to ONF’s Atrium distribution enables the use of Edge-Core open network switches in OpenFlow-based SDN deployments.
With the first release of Atrium, an SDN network can be deployed using Edge-Core switches communicating via the OpenFlow v1.3 protocol to the Open Network Operating System (ONOS) SDN controller running a BGP peering application based on Quagga. The Accton contribution consists of the following open source software components, which were integrated, ported and validated by Accton on the Edge-Core AS5710-54X 10GbE top-of-rack switch, the first switch hardware design fully approved by the Open Compute Project (OCP):
- Open Network Linux, the OCP-approved reference NOS;
- OpenFlow Data Plane Abstraction (OF-DPA), developed by Broadcom and implementing an OpenFlow hardware abstraction layer;
- Indigo OpenFlow client.
- Accton will continue working with ONF’s Atrium project by enhancing the Accton contribution to support Edge-Core’s 40GbE and 100GbE open network switches, and by supporting the next release of Atrium running on the OpenDaylight SDN and NFV software platform.
Accton also announced that it will make available open switch software distributions with additional features to enable customers, data center operators, software providers and the open source community to develop software applications to automate and control networks deploying Accton’s Edge-Core open network switches. The open switch software distribution will consist of the following open source software elements, packaged and validated by Accton on the Edge-Core 10GbE, 40GbE, and 100GbE open network switches:
- Open Network Linux, the OCP-approved reference NOS;
- OpenFlow Data Plane Abstraction (OF-DPA), developed by Broadcom and implementing an OpenFlow hardware abstraction layer;
- Indigo OpenFlow client;
- OpenNSL, contributed by Broadcom and implementing an open API to the Broadcom StrataXGS switch silicon which is designed into the Edge-Core OCP switches;
- FBOSS Agent, contributed by Facebook to provide an interface to control Broadcom switch silicon and manage low-level control packets.
“Cloud providers and enterprises with web-scale infrastructures want greater automation and control over their networks through the use of open software platforms,” said Jeff Catlin, VP Technology, Accton Technology Corporation. “With our contributions to ONF’s open source SDN distribution and with Accton’s distribution of open switch software, we are enabling an ecosystem of customers, cloud providers, software companies, and the open source community to add value on top of our OCP-approved Edge-Core switches to deploy SDN and NFV architectures that meet those needs.”
- Last week, the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) announced its “Atrium” open SDN software distribution, integrating previously standalone open source components. Atrium, which will be released by the end of the month, incorporates the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the Open Network Operating System (ONOS), and Open Compute Project (OCP) components. The software elements run in either controllers or switches, communicating via the OpenFlow protocol, and include plugin opportunities for other switching solutions to help foster an open ecosystem of interoperable, hardware-based OpenFlow switches.
