Download Switch Light - Big Switch Networks

SwitchLight
ThinSwitchingforBareMetalPhysicalandVirtualSwitches
SwitchLightisaLinux-based,thinswitchingsoftwaresolution.SwitchLightprovidesconsistentdata
planeprogrammingabstractionsacrossmerchantsilicon-basedphysicalswitchesandhypervisor
vSwitches.SwitchLightcanbeinstalledonavarietyofphysicalswitchplatforms,includingBroadcom’shigh
performanceswitchingsiliconaswellasvariousLinuxdistributionsutilizingtheKVMhypervisoronIntelx86platforms.
SwitchLightisakeyenablingtechnologyforBigSwitchNetworks’centralizedSDNapplications,andcomesintwo
flavors:
•
SwitchLightOSisacompleteSDNoperatingsystemforbaremetalphysicalswitches,basedonOpenNetwork
Linux(ONL),anopensourceeffortwithintheOpenComputeProject.
•
SwitchLightVXisauserspacesoftwareagentforKVM-basedvirtualswitchesthataddsadvancedfunctionality
andimprovedperformanceontopoftheOpenvSwitchkernel.
Together,theSwitchLightOSandSwitchLightVXenablenextgenerationunifiedP+V(physical+virtual)fabricsfor
moderndatacenters.InconjunctionwithacentralizedSDNcontroller,SwitchLightenablesdramaticreductionsinthe
costofyournetworkoperationsandeliminatestime-consuming,manualproceduresbyenablingcentralprovisioning,
automationandtroubleshootingofbothswitchingplatformsandservicedefinitions.
Asshowninthegraphictotheleft,
SwitchLightsoftwareprovidesa
commoninterfaceforprogrammingL2
andL3dataplaneforwardingrulesand
policiesontophysicalswitchesaswell
asvirtualswitches.Thecentralized
SDNcontrollerapplicationproactively
pushestheoptimizedforwardingrules
andpoliciestotherelevantnodesin
thenetworkfabric.TheBigSwitch
agentsupportsOpenFlowv1.3with
openextensionsontheswitchesand,
inturnprogramstherulesandpolicies
downtotheASIC-basedforwarding
tables(physicalswitches)orOpen
vSwitchsoftwareforwardingtables
(virtualswitches).
©BigSwitchNetworks1
SwitchLight
BasedonOpenNetworkLinux(ONL)
SwitchLightOSisthecommercialSDNswitchingsoftwarefromBigSwitchNetworks.ItbuildsupontheOpenNetwork
LinuxdistributionavailablewithintheOpenComputeProject.
•
ONListheopensourceLinuxoperatingsystemdistributionfor"baremetal"Ethernetswitchhardware.By
separatingsoftwareandhardwareprocurementaswellasdeploymentdecisions,ONLbringstheserveror
computeindustrymodelstothenetworkinginfrastructure.
ONLisabase-leveloperatingsystemandprovidesamanagementinterfacetotheswitchinghardware.ItusestheOpen
NetworkInstallEnvironment(ONIE)toinstallontoon-boardflashmemory.ThecomponentsinastandardONL
distributioninclude:DebianLinuxkernel,setofdevicedrivers,installationscriptsandanet-bootcapablezerotouch
networkingbootloader,customizedwithenhancednetworkbootfunctionalityforavarietyofbaremetalswitch
devices.ONLalsoincludesseveraladvancedfeaturesthatoptimizeheadlessswitchoperations,andimproved
performancebyminimizingwritestoflashmemory.
DesignedforMigrationtoSDN
Byleveragingtheemergingindustry
standardONIEandONL,andahardware
compatibilitylistsharedacrossthebare
metalswitchingecosystem,SwitchLightis
designedwithmigrationinmind.On
startup,ausercanopttobootupeither
theSwitchLightOS,traditionalnetworking
OSsfromothervendorsorahardware
diagnosticOS.Therearenohardwareor
cablingchangesrequiredtogobetween
controller-basedandtraditionalbox-byboxnetworkingdesigns--asimple,lowriskmigrationpathtoSDN.
BigSwitchsupportsthefollowingprocurementandinstallationmodelsforSwitchLightOS:
•
Orderswitchinggearpre-installedwithSwitchLightOSasapartofSDNProductsdeployment
•
Install the Switch Light OS on existing or separately procured hardware switches as a part of SDN Products
deployment.
Foracompletelistofsupportedhardware,pleaseconsulttheHardwareCompatibilityList.
AboutBigSwitchNetworks
Big Switch Networks is the market leader in bringing hyperscale data center networking technologies to a broader audience. The
companyistakingthreekeyhyperscaletechnologies—OEM/ODMbaremetalandopenEthernetswitchhardware,sophisticatedSDN
control software, and core-and-pod data center designs—and leveraging them in fit-for-purpose products designed for use in
enterprises,cloudprovidersandserviceproviders.Foradditionalinformation,[email protected],follow@bigswitchorvisit
www.bigswitch.com.
©BigSwitchNetworks2