#opencomputeproject

SDN Controller Integration – Every vendors today has an SDN play and a solution for “white switch” arguments. As this segment of the technology matures we will see separation between the vendors, but today. RIGHT LANE!

  Cisco released the Nexus 1000V switch which is a VEB(2) (virtual embedded bridge). This software switch loads on a Hypervisor and provides standards based switching between virtual machines and also to the outside world. This bridge offers full VLAN support. PASSING LANE!

  Arista Networks announced a new data center term, a combination of leaf and spine, the “spline”. The only member of the spline family is the 7250 QX-64(3), a box 2 rack units high that can support 64 40-Gb/s ports or 256 10-Gb/s ports. This device opens a new record for density. PASSING LANE!

  Juniper Networks unveiled QFX5100 series of switches(4) this fall with the QFX5100-48S, a10GbE switch offering 48 dual-mode, small form-factor pluggable transceiver (SFP/SFP+) ports and six quad small form-factor pluggable plus (QSFP+) 40GbE ports. This switch does not break any density records or speed for that matter, what puts this device and Juniper in the passing lane is the way the operating system is supported. JUNOS is run as a virtual machine on a CentOS kernel. The concept is to get the in service upgrade capabilities of a dual controller device in a single controller switch. Upgrades and downgrades should be hitless in this environment. The other options and capabilities for this device are unknown at this time, because it has not been done before. PASSING LANE!

Facebook rarely if ever is associated with Ethernet hardware, but they are changing that perception with the Open Compute Project(5). This project is creating a specification for an open source hardware switching platform

and an open source operating system for the platform. They expect to see hardware that will meet the specifications in the near future. The implications are incredible, imagine an environment where a customer can create a Ethernet switch in the same way they can create a computer today. Choose the platform, the ports, the hardware accelerators, and choose the operating system that they are most comfortable with. Facebook is in the PASSING LANE.

  Just as on the highway cars are constantly changing lanes, so are the Ethernet switch vendors and their products.

(1)       Broadcom’s 10G chip set - http://www.broadcom.com/products/Ethernet-Controllers-and-Adapters/Enterprise-Server-Controllers/BCM578x0-Family

(2)       Cisco’s VEB - http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps9902/whitepaper_c11-620065_ps10277_Products_White_Paper.html

(3)       Arista Network’s Spline - http://www.sdncentral.com/news/aristas-single-tier-spline-targets-enterprise/2013/11/

(4)       Juniper JUNOS as a VM - http://www.juniper.net/us/en/products-services/switching/qfx-series/qfx5100/

(5)       Facebook’s Open Compute Project - http://gigaom.com/2013/11/11/facebooks-hardware-vp-says-were-very-close-to-open-source-switches/