Summary slides of current Network OS status overview as of 16, Oct. 2015. Comparison of two major Open Network OS: "OpenSwitch (ops)" and "Open Network Linux (ONL)".

1. Open Network OS
Overview as of 2015/10/16
Twitter: @ebiken | ebiken.g@gmail.com
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 1

2. What is “Network OS”
• Kernel (Typically Linux)
• Switch hardware platform management.
• Boot loader, LED, Sensor, Fan, etc.
• May not be required when running on VM.
• Routing Agent.
• OSPF, RIP, BGP, ISIS, MPLS etc.
• L2 protocol / Tunnel management.
• Datapath SDK/API
• Including FIB management.
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 2
“Network OS” is a software consisting of functionalities below.
• Term “Network OS” is used to describe
different meaning in different context.
• Definition above is what we define in
this document.

3. Boot Loader
(Utilizing ONIE)
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 3
Network OS components
Bear Metal Switch
(White Box / OCP based)
Merchant ASIC
(Cavium, Broadcom,
Mellanox, Intel)
Other Hardware
Management
Linux Kernel
Data Plane abstraction
(Per ASIC SDK)
Network OS
CPU
DRAM
Network I/F
(Ethernet ports)
Fan, LED, Sensor
L2/L3
Protocol
Daemons
User Interface
(CLI / GUI / API)
OpenFlow
Agent
Common L2/L3/OF APIs
Stats / Status
(SNMP, Syslog)
CPU Board Packet Processing Board

4. • OpenSwitch (ops)
• http://www.openswitch.net/
• Initial Contributors:
• Hewlett Packard, Accton, Broadcom, Intel, Qosmos, VMWare
and Arista.
• Open Network Linux (ONL)
• http://opennetlinux.org/
• Initial Contributor:
• Big Switch Networks
• Other Contributors:
• Pica8, Accton
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 4
Two “Open Sourced” Network OS
Proprietary Network OS
• Big Switch : Switch Light OS
• Cumulus Networks : Cumulus Linux
• Pica8 : PicOS
• Arista : EOS

5. Two “Open Sourced” Network OS
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 5
OpenSwich (ops) v.s. Open Network Linux (ONL)
OpenSwitch (ops)
http://www.openswitch.net/
Open Network Linux (ONL)
http://opennetlinux.org/
Features / Functionalities
Open NOS with full L2/L3 Switching Feature.
Routing / OpenFlow agents are included.
Open Platform Distribution for NOS.
Routing / OpenFlow agents NOT included. (only samples)
Target Hardware
OCP (Open Compute) switch, Bare metal (White Box) Switch
Contributors
Hewlett Packard, Accton, Broadcom
Intel, Qosmos, VMWare, Arista
Big Switch Networks (Initial Source Code
Contributor), Pica8, Accton
License
Apache License, v. 2.0 Eclipse Public License and GPL for Kernel

6. Open Switch (ops)
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Open Switch (ops) Architecture
• Central System state database (including configuration)
• Based on “OVSDB-Server”
• “ops-switchd” to abstract datapath and manage ASIC.
• Based on “Open vSwitch (OVS)”
• OpenFlow functionality is not yet supported.
• Hardware support daemons
• Managing I2C peripherals using Config-YAML library.
• L2/L3 Protocol Daemons
• System Daemons
• Management / Monitoring Daemons
Reference: http://www.openswitch.net/documents/user/architecture

7. Open Network Linux (ONL)
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Open Network Linux (ONL) Architecture
ONL architecture is well described in below slides
presented at “Okinawa Open Days 2014” by Rob Sherwood, Big Switch Networks CTO.
http://www.e-side.co.jp/okinawaopendays/2014/document/12_Rob-Sherwood.pdf

8. Appendix
Misc Slides for Reference.
Open Network OS | Overview as of 2015/10/16 8

9. Appendix
• OpenNSL : Open Network Switch Layer
• http://www.broadcom.com/products/ethernet-communication-and-switching/switching/opennsl
• A library of network switch APIs that is openly available for programming Broadcom network switch silicon
based platforms.
• GitHub:
• https://github.com/Broadcom-Switch/OpenNSL
• Documents:
• http://broadcom-switch.github.io/OpenNSL/doc/html/pages.html
• OF-DPA : OpenFlow Data Plane Abstraction
• http://www.broadcom.com/products/ethernet-communication-and-switching/switching/of-dpa-software
• Specification: OpenFlow Data Plane Abstraction (OF-DPA) Specification
• Broadcom API for OpenFLow 1.3.4.
• OEM & ODM Development Package (ODP)
• Full source code package distributed under Broadcom SLA.
• Community Development Package (CDP)
• An Open API library with Application Development Kit distributed on GitHub.
• GitHub: https://github.com/Broadcom-Switch/of-dpa
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Broadcom APIs