France-based international communications services provider Orange and Edgecore Networks Corp. say that they have enabled a disaggregated switch that combines Edgecore’s whitebox switch hardware with Orange’s network operating system based on Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC). Orange plans to deploy switches equipped in this fashion across hundreds of points of presence (PoPs), the companies say.
Created by Microsoft for its Azure data centers, SONiC is an open source network operating system based on Linux designed to run on switches from multiple vendors and ASICs. SONiC became part of the Linux Foundation this past April. Orange has adopted the operating system for its network disaggregation initiative. Use of SONiC will enable more flexible and cost-effective designs, faster deployments with a simpler IT integration, and the ability to avoid vendor lock-in. Network procurement lead times also should improve, Orange believes.
Orange will deploy the switches in PoPs that support 1G, 10G, and 100G access services to its enterprise customers. The Edgecore whitebox switch comes pre-loaded with the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) software installer to automate loading of the operating system.
“We are pleased to team up with Edgecore to launch our network disaggregation transformation,” commented Jean Luc Vuillemin, executive vice president of Orange International Networks. “This joint work enables us to drastically transform the way we build and upgrade our networks. It allows us to move away from off-the-shelf and locked-in solutions to in-house developed solutions relying on our network developers’ expertise. Upskilling our teams to master our software allows us to regain full control of our networks and therefore manage upgrades in a fast, cost-effective, and sovereign way, while providing an improved and reliable service to our customers.”
“This successful experience in Orange’s network proves that disaggregated open networking solutions are robust and capable of handling the most demanding of network environments,” added Heimdall Siao, president of Edgecore.
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