At OCP 2019, Big Switch Networks demonstrated an open-source network operating system (NOS) through an integration with Microsoft-led Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) and Big Switch-led Open Network Linux (ONL). The demonstration highlights automation, zero-touch provisioning and visibility leveraging a DevOps-centric Ansible workflow and SDN-centric controller workflows.
The SONiC + ONL NOS is comprised of the following open-source software components, each of which are widely deployed independently:
- ONL, a base platform OS, including ONLP platform APIs
- SONiC, higher-layer NOS stack, including forwarding agent/Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) management, telemetry and programmable API layers
- Free Range Routing (FRR), integrated through SONiC, for the L3 control plane functionality (BGP, OSPF)
The SONiC + ONL demo stack is available for download from the SONiC + ONL technology page. (below). Examples from the demo include:
- Configuration automation and visibility with Ansible
- Zero-touch installation and visibility via an SDN controller
- Ease of deploying a BGP switching fabric with 10G, 25G and 100G open networking switches from Edgecore Networks, leveraging Broadcom’s StrataXGS Trident II and StrataXGS Tomahawk networking ASICs
https://www.bigswitch.com/solutions/technology/open-network-linux/onl-sonic