Apstra, a start-up based in Menlo Park, California, released its Apstra Operating System (AOS) 1.1.1 and an integration with Wedge 100, Facebook’s second generation top-of-rack network switch.
Apstra said its distributed operating system for the data center network will disaggregate the operational plane from the underlying device operating systems and hardware. Sitting above both open and traditional vendor hardware, AOS provides the abstraction required to automatically translate a data center network architect’s intent into a closed loop, continuously validated infrastructure. The intent, network configurations, and telemetry are stored in a distributed, system-wide state repository.
“At Apstra we believe in giving network engineers choice and control in operating their network and we are excited to be part of the network disaggregation movement,” said Mansour Karam, CEO and Founder of Apstra, Inc. “We are delighted to have been invited to demonstrate AOS integrated with Wedge 100 today. AOS provides network engineers with advanced operational control and situational awareness of network services, and enables them to design, deploy, and operate a truly Self-Operating Network™ (SON) without vendor lock-in.”
Facebook Deploys Backpack — its 2nd Gen Data Center Switch
Facebook unveiled Backpack, its second-generation modular switch platform developed in house at Facebook for 100G data center infrastructure. It leverages Facebook’s recently announced Wedge switch.
Backpack is designed with a clear separation of the data, control, and management planes. It uses simple building blocks called switch elements. The Backpack chassis is equivalent to a set of 12 Wedge 100 switches connected together. The orthogonal direct chassis architecture opens up more air channel space for a better thermal performance for managing the heat from 100G ASICs and optics. Facebook will use the BGP routing protocol for the distribution of routes between the different line cards in the chassis.
The design has already entered production and deployment in Facebook data centers. The company plans to submit the design to the Open Compute Project.
