SURFsara's Success with Open Networking Switches Explained
Explore why SURFsara is pleased with open networking switches, the concept of open networking, how they utilize bare-metal switches, the advantages they enjoy, and important considerations for implementation. Discover the benefits, challenges, and future prospects in this insightful overview.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Why SURFsara is happy with Open Networking switches Erik Ruiter SURFsara TNC17 Linz May 2017
What is Open networking? Decoupling of network operating system and hardware Similar to the rise of Linux and Windows with the IBM compatible PC Driven by cheap top-of-rack switches in big datacentres (eg Facebook Wedge / Backpack)
What is Open networking? Open networking OSes Big Switch Cumulus Linux Dell OS 10 Network Processors Open networking vendors Corsa Dell Edge-Core MBroadcom Helix4 Mellanox Penguin Pica8 Quanta Broadcom Apollo Firebolt Helix Tomahawk Trident Triumph MLNX-OS Pluribus SONiC Mellanox Spectrum Switchdev driver + Linux Cavium
How does SURFsara use bare metal switches? ToR management switches / EoR aggregation switches All switches are operated using Cumulus Linux + Ansible Currently only using L2 features Future features implementation: Routing (Q3) Cloud platform integration (Q4) BGP-EVPN (2018)
How does SURFsara use bare metal switches? Open networking devices in SURFsara 120% 100% 30% 80% 45% 57% 60% 96% 99% 100% 40% 70% 55% 43% 20% 4% 1% 0% 0% 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Open networking vendors Legacy vendors
Why are we happy: Freedom of Choice: Vendor / OS Rich feature set: Almost as complete as traditional (Eg. MLAG, VRF, VxLAN) Flexible operation: Operate as linux box, Use config management, or classic CLI Cheaper: 40%-60% TCO reduction (except for 1gbps switches)
Keep in mind Engineers might need a somewhat different skillset depending on use case: - configuration management -> Ansible / Puppet, GIT - Linux OS knowledge -> Cumulus / switchdev Time investment required to get settled Using configuration management is powerful Make sure support is arranged between HW and SW vendors
Erik Ruiter Erik.ruiter@surfsara.nl www.surfsara.nl THANK YOU!
