Cloud-based Solution Provider 2600Hz Chooses Pica8 For Their Data Centers

Upgrading Outdated Cumulus Linux Deployment Allowed 2600Hz To Retain Hardware Systems With Full Support

2600Hz is a telecom services provider delivering cloud communications solutions to MSPs, ISPs, and telecom resellers. 2600Hz’s platform KAZOO modernizes how businesses provide communications services to their customers. Whether it be voice, mobile, video, fax or SMS, 2600Hz simplifies and opens the cryptic black box of telecom.

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2600Hz is privately held and is based in the San Francisco Bay area, with international offices.

2600Hz had standardized on Edgecore equipment with Cumulus Linux before NVIDIA acquired Cumulus and stopped supporting Broadcom. 2600Hz wanted to stay on an open networking platform to avoid lock-in. Upgrading to a Pica8 solution allowed 2600Hz to retain their hardware system of choice, and enabled a logical path to upgrade for future expansion.

Products Used

After a short evaluation, 2600Hz initially upgraded a small cluster from Cumulus to PicOS, and over time have transitioned 3 sites to PicOS. Pica8 spine/leaf software switches are deployed using Edgecore Open Network Platform in three Data Centers: New Jersey, Chicago and Sunnyvale

Deployment Notes

2600Hz uses PicOS in both Top-of-Rack (TOR) and aggregation switches. The use cases are standard Data Center Networks where the TOR uses an MLAG configuration for high availability and the aggregation layer requires L3 routing. For the TOR layer, the MLAG must provide maximum LACP flexibility, including LACP fallback and fast mode, to  enable PXE boot and fast fail over handling for various servers.

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When asked about the decision process of choosing Pica8 during the evaluation stage, Tyler Kiziah, 2600Hz DevOps Manager, pointed out that support of open networking  standards was crucial. PicOS is a Linux based NOS running on an unmodified Debian Linux. “Orchestration with Ansible was the decisive factor in choosing Pica8. It is very similar to Juniper Junos. Anyone with Junos experience will easily make the transition to PicOS with minimal training,” said Kiziah.

Kiziah also shared his experience migrating from Cumulus Linux to PicOS. The migration itself was done easily, and usability was intuitive. He highlighted the role of Pica8 Support in the transition process: “Pica8 Support has been extremely helpful to introduce features that the network depends on. LACP Fall Back is an example. This made the transition from Cumulus to Pica8 easier,” said Kiziah.

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