Keysight and AVIZ Networks Announce Results of First SONiC Open Source Network Operating System Community PlugFest
Keysight Technologies, Inc., a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, and AVIZ Networks, announced the results of the first SONiC Open Source Network Operating System Community PlugFest which was held May through June 2021. The PlugFest results demonstrate that Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) technology is ready for deployment.
SONiC, the open-source network operating system based on Linux, runs on switches from multiple vendors and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). It enables users to create network solutions while leveraging the strength of a large ecosystem and community.
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“Keysight Technologies and AVIZ Networks have partnered to help accelerate the transition to open networking using SONiC through testing,” said Karam Gerges, vice president, AVIZ Networks. “The PlugFest is a key initiative in supporting the commercial acceptance of open-source Network Operating Systems like SONiC. Test events like PlugFest help vendors and the user community understand how data centers can successfully leverage disaggregated network architectures.”
Results Demonstrate SONiC Readiness
In addition to Keysight and AVIZ Networks, the open community test event featured customers from the SONiC Customer Advisory Board including members from the enterprise network operator, system integrator and cloud service provider community; vendors including ASIC manufacturers, original design manufacturers (ODMs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs).
The PlugFest determined the maturity of SONiC on different hardware platforms from a customer perspective using a suite of tests across 6 vendors to validate feature sets, scalability and performance. The ‘essential test suite’ validated key features listed by the SONiC community for management, Layer 2 and Layer 3 functionality. The ‘scale test suite’ characterized control and data plane scaling capacity and the ‘deployment test suite’ validated NetOps integration in a Tier1/Tier0 topology. The test contents and methodologies were reviewed and enhanced by the PlugFest Customer Advisory Board.
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The testing evaluated SONiC maturity for each group of stakeholders (customers and vendors) and tested feature sets, scalability and performance in five key use case groups. The results are the cumulative average on how the participating vendor equipment performed in tests to assess the readiness of SONiC in an open ecosystem in which customers have a choice of solutions from multiple vendors for ASICs and switches. Test results from more than 100 test cases were anonymized into an aggregated pass rate score adding up to 100% each for each group:
- Switch Platforms: 89%
- Management: 100%
- L2 Feature and Scale: 84%
- L3 Feature and Scale: 93%
- Day-2 Operation: 86%
The test scores indicate a high level of maturity in platform, management and Layer-3 features and scale while Layer-2 features, and scale require some improvement. These results are aligned with the initial goal of SONiC as a cloud network operating system (NOS) showing progress in Layer-3 elements while work is moving into Layer-2 in enterprise and campus environments. Day 2 operation results tested actual functionality to demonstrate SONiC maturity in a realistic setting when a data center is in production.
“We believe that the PlugFest demonstrates that SONiC is on its way to unlock the true potential of open networking,” said Nitesh Jha, senior director, business development at Keysight. “There were a few minor issues and performance limitations discovered in areas where additional focus is required. The validation suite from Keysight and AVIZ Networks allows for an effective and unbiased reference test bed for network operators and vendors to understand the operational status of specific SONiC implementations.”
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“Edgecore understands the unprecedented value of disaggregated infrastructure to offer open choices to customers in designing their networks,” said Larry Ho, Vice President of Software Engineering, Edgecore Networks. “We are proud to be an active contributor to the SONiC community to further accelerate and expand the use of open networking. The PlugFest testing provides both vendors and end users with an opportunity to see SONiC at work.”
“As a leader and key vendor in the SONiC ecosystem, it is encouraging to watch the positive outcome of the vendor PlugFest as we demonstrate that Intel Tofino coupled with SONiC is robust and ready for broad deployment,” said Ed Doe, Intel Vice President and General Manager Barefoot Division. “Propelled by our Intel Tofino P4-programmable Ethernet switch ASICs working in concert with our 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Intel Ethernet 800 Series Network Adapters and Intel FPGAs, customers can tailor the platform to optimize their network packet and AI-infused processing needs.”
“As an established leader in open networking, NVIDIA is committed to open source at all layers of the stack, including with initiatives such as Linux networking and the SONiC network operating systems,” said David Iles, senior director of Ethernet Switching at NVIDIA. “Open source has the power to accelerate innovation and PlugFests like these enable customers to test these solutions in real-world scenarios.”
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