Networking Guide · Open Hardware · NOS

What Is Open Networking?

Open networking is an approach to building networks in which the network operating system, the hardware and the management tools come from separate suppliers and connect through open, standard interfaces, so operators choose each part on its merits instead of buying one closed system. IP Infusion develops OcNOS, a commercial network operating system, and ships it as software and as complete, validated systems on 40+ open hardware platforms.

Explore OcNOS See the hardware list
40+validated open platforms
700+features in the Feature Matrix
SP + DCOcNOS-SP and OcNOS-DC
32G to 51.2Topen router and switch range

By IP Infusion

What is open networking?

Open networking separates the network operating system from the switch or router hardware. Instead of buying software and hardware locked together from one vendor, you run a network operating system on validated open hardware from multiple manufacturers. That restores competitive hardware sourcing, decouples the hardware refresh cycle from the software, and removes single-vendor lock-in, while keeping a familiar CLI and standard protocols.

Open networking describes the whole approach: open hardware, an independently chosen operating system, and open interfaces for installing, configuring and monitoring it. Network disaggregation is the step that makes it possible, splitting one closed product into parts. The result forwards packets the same way any router or switch does. What changes is who supplies each part, how they are bought, and how often each one can be replaced.

Open networking vs traditional networking

A traditional network is built from integrated systems: each router or switch comes from one vendor with its operating system installed, and the vendor decides which hardware the software runs on. Open networking keeps the same protocols and the same packet forwarding, and changes how the parts are sourced.

QuestionTraditional networkingOpen networking
What you buyA router or switch with the vendor's operating system installedOpen hardware and a network operating system, sourced as separate layers
Hardware choiceThe vendor's own product linePlatforms on merchant silicon from several manufacturers
Operating systemTied to the vendor's hardwareChosen on its own, and it can stay the same when the hardware changes
Management and automationThe vendor's CLI and interfaces, consistent across that vendor's productsStandard interfaces such as NETCONF, YANG, gNMI and OpenConfig, consistent across hardware suppliers
New siliconArrives as a new vendor product, on the vendor's scheduleArrives as new open hardware under the same operating system
Integration and supportThe vendor integrates and supports the systemThe operator integrates, or a supplier validates and supports the combination as one product

Both run the same standard protocols, such as BGP, IS-IS and EVPN, so open and traditional equipment can work in the same network and a migration can proceed one role at a time.

Pros and cons of open networking

Open networking changes who does the integration work. The benefits come from choice; the costs come from making separately sourced parts behave as one system.

Benefits and trade-offs of network disaggregation

The open networking stack

An open network is built in three independently sourceable layers. IP Infusion provides the network operating system layer and validates it across the hardware layer.

1. Merchant silicon

The switching and routing ASICs, for example Broadcom Qumran, Jericho, Trident, and Tomahawk.

2. Open hardware

Switches and routers built around that silicon by open hardware manufacturers. OcNOS is validated on platforms from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica.

Hardware Compatibility List

3. Network operating system

The routing and switching software, for example IP Infusion OcNOS, that turns open hardware into a production router or switch.

What is OcNOS

Open networking, term by term

Five terms carry most of the conversation about open networking. Each has its own page; the short version is below.

Network disaggregation

Buying the software and hardware of a router or switch separately. It is the mechanism behind open networking, and it moves integration work from the vendor to whoever assembles the parts.

What is network disaggregation

White box switch

A data center Ethernet switch on merchant silicon, sold without a bundled operating system. The operator decides which NOS it runs, in leaf, spine and management roles.

What is a white box switch

White box router

The routing counterpart for service provider networks: open cell site, aggregation and core routers that run a separately chosen routing operating system.

What is a white box router

Network operating system

The software that runs the device: routing protocols, control of the forwarding chip, and the CLI and APIs. In an open network it is the layer that stays constant while the hardware changes.

What is a network operating system

AI networking switch

A high-capacity data center switch for GPU cluster fabrics, where Ethernet has to carry RDMA traffic without loss. Open AI switches are white box switches sized for that job.

What is an AI networking switch

Open network hardware, by role

Open network hardware covers the whole path from the cell site to the data center. The table groups the platforms validated with OcNOS by the job they do. Every one is built on Broadcom merchant silicon by Edgecore, UfiSpace or Celestica.

RoleTypeBroadcom siliconCapacity per systemOcNOS edition
Cell site routerOpen routerQumran UX, Qumran AX32 to 300 GbpsOcNOS-SP
Aggregation and edge routerOpen routerQumran UX, AX, 2U, MX, 2A, 2C32 Gbps to 2.4 TbpsOcNOS-SP
Core routerOpen routerQumran 2C, Qumran 2C+, Jericho2C+2.4 to 14.4 TbpsOcNOS-SP
IP over DWDMOpen router or switchQumran 2A, 2C, 2C+, Jericho2C+, Trident4, Tomahawk5800 Gbps to 51.2 TbpsOcNOS-SP, OcNOS-DC
Data center leaf and spineOpen switchTrident3, Trident4, Tomahawk2 to Tomahawk51.08 to 51.2 TbpsOcNOS-DC
Management networkOpen switchTrident3 X2120 GbpsOcNOS-DC

The full list, with every model, port configuration and status, is in the OcNOS Hardware Compatibility List. Per-silicon detail is on the white box router and white box switch pages.

The open standards that hold it together

Parts from different suppliers only work as one network if they meet at shared interfaces. These are the ones that matter most in practice.

  • ONIE. The Open Network Install Environment, an installer environment on open switches and routers that lets an operating system from any supplier be installed on the hardware.
  • Standard routing protocols. BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, MPLS, segment routing and EVPN are open standards, most of them defined by the IETF, so an open router or switch interoperates with the rest of the network whatever runs it.
  • NETCONF and YANG. A configuration protocol and a data modelling language that let automation tools configure devices through structured models instead of screen-scraping a CLI.
  • gNMI and OpenConfig. Streaming telemetry and vendor-neutral data models, so monitoring works the same way across hardware suppliers.

OcNOS supports NETCONF, YANG and zero-touch provisioning, and gNMI and OpenConfig streaming telemetry, alongside a CLI in the industry-standard style.

Types of open networking options

Open networking is not one product. The options below differ in how much of the stack is open and who carries the integration and support work. The right one depends on the engineering team you have and how much of that work you want to own.

QuestionIntegrated system with open interfacesSelf-integrated open stackCommercial NOS on open hardwareValidated open system
Hardware choiceOne vendorAny open hardwareThe NOS supplier's supported listNamed, validated platforms from several manufacturers
Operating systemThe vendor's own, bundledOpen source or in houseCommercial, licensed separatelyCommercial, tested on each platform
Who integratesThe vendorThe operatorThe operator, with software supportThe supplier
Who answers a faultOne vendorThe operator, with community or partner helpSoftware and hardware suppliers separatelyOne supplier for software and hardware
Operator engineering effortLowHighMediumLow
Suited toSingle-vendor environments that do not need hardware sourcing flexibility.Teams with large in-house network software engineering.Operators with lab capacity to qualify their own hardware.Operators that want open hardware with one accountable supplier.

A fifth path applies to networking product companies: they license a commercial network operating system and build it into their own hardware, as with OcNOS for OEMs. For a closer look at the operating system choice itself, see network operating system models compared.

Open networking vendors: who supplies each layer

A list of open networking vendors is really a list of four kinds of supplier. One company can fill more than one role, and the questions to ask differ by layer.

  • Silicon vendors design the forwarding ASICs. Every platform validated with OcNOS uses Broadcom merchant silicon from the Qumran, Jericho, Trident and Tomahawk families.
  • Hardware manufacturers build open switches and routers around that silicon. OcNOS platforms come from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica.
  • Network operating system developers write the routing and switching software, as commercial, open source or embedded products.
  • Systems suppliers test the software on the hardware, qualify the optics, and support the combination as one product.

When comparing suppliers, ask for three things in writing: which features run on which hardware model and release, who owns a fault that could sit in either the software or the hardware, and whether the same operating system covers every role you run, from the cell site to the data center.

Open networking solutions from IP Infusion

IP Infusion develops commercial networking software and ships it as complete, validated systems. OcNOS runs service provider routing, data center fabrics and AI fabrics on open hardware, and IP Maestro adds assurance across the network.

This is the combination open networking is built to deliver: hardware, the network operating system, optics, and support are sourced as separable layers, each competed on its own merits, then qualified together by IP Infusion and delivered as one product on one purchase order, one support contract, and one RMA path.

Service provider networks

OcNOS-SP on validated open routers for Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs, regional telcos, carriers, and mobile and broadband operators, from cell site to core, including IP over DWDM.

5G mobile transport

Data center and AI fabrics

OcNOS-DC on validated open switches for large enterprise data centers, MSPs and AI infrastructure: EVPN-VXLAN leaf-spine fabrics and lossless Ethernet for GPU clusters.

Data center fabric
AI fabric

OEM partners

Networking product companies embed OcNOS in their own hardware instead of writing a network operating system of their own.

OcNOS for OEMs
  • One software, every role: service-provider routing, data-center and AI fabric, IPoDWDM, and edge, on OcNOS-SP and OcNOS-DC.
  • Three ways to buy. OcNOS software for hardware you choose from the HCL, pre-integrated OcNOS Systems ready to deploy, or OcNOS for OEMs built into your own product.
  • Published validation. The OcNOS Feature Matrix maps 700+ features to 40+ validated platforms.
  • Licence tiers. OcNOS is licensed in tiers named IPBASE, MGMT, MPLS, CSR and PLUS.

Frequently asked questions

What is open networking?
Open networking separates the network operating system from the switch or router hardware. Instead of buying software and hardware as one locked bundle, operators run a network operating system such as OcNOS on validated open hardware from multiple manufacturers, which restores competitive hardware sourcing and avoids single-vendor lock-in.
Who are the open networking vendors?
Open networking vendors fall into four groups: silicon vendors that design the forwarding chips, hardware manufacturers that build open switches and routers, network operating system developers, and systems suppliers that validate and support the combination. IP Infusion develops the OcNOS network operating system and ships it as complete, validated systems on Broadcom-based hardware from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica.
What is open network hardware?
Open network hardware is a switch or router built on merchant silicon that accepts a network operating system from a supplier other than the hardware maker. It ships with an installer environment such as ONIE instead of a locked software image. Open routers cover cell site, aggregation and core roles; open switches cover data center leaf, spine and management roles.
What is an open networking solution?
An open networking solution combines open hardware, a network operating system and management tools into a network that does a defined job, such as 5G mobile transport or a data center fabric. It can be integrated by the operator or delivered as a validated system by one supplier, which is how IP Infusion ships OcNOS.
Is open networking ready for production?
Yes. Open routers and switches run production service provider and data center networks. The practical question is validation: confirm that each feature you need runs on the exact hardware model and software release you will deploy. The OcNOS Feature Matrix and Hardware Compatibility List publish that per platform, and OcNOS Systems ship tested as one product.
What is the difference between open networking and traditional networking?
In a traditional network, each router or switch comes from one vendor with its operating system installed. In an open network, the hardware and the network operating system are sourced separately: open hardware on merchant silicon from several manufacturers, and an operating system such as OcNOS chosen on its own. Both run the same standard routing protocols, so open and traditional equipment can work in the same network.
What is the difference between open networking and SDN?
Software-defined networking moves control of the network into a central controller. Open networking separates the network operating system from the hardware so that each can be sourced on its own. The two can be combined, but an open network does not need a controller: it can run standard distributed routing protocols such as BGP and IS-IS, as a traditional network does.
Can open networking be used in AI data centers?
Yes. AI back-end fabrics are built from high-capacity Ethernet switches on merchant silicon, which is open network hardware. OcNOS-DC runs on validated Broadcom Tomahawk and Trident switches of up to 51.2 Tbps per system and provides lossless Ethernet for RoCEv2 traffic between GPU servers.

Building an open network? Start from the roles you run.

The Hardware Compatibility List shows which validated platforms fit each role, the Feature Matrix shows what runs on each, and an IP Infusion architect can size the rest with you.

See the hardware list OcNOS Feature Matrix Talk to an architect

Go deeper. Take it with you.

Two short, technical downloads that go further than this page: the full OcNOS-SP datasheet and the full OcNOS-DC datasheet.

Datasheet

OcNOS-SP Datasheet

Full OcNOS-SP specification: the access, cell site and aggregation feature set, software SKUs, supported hardware platforms, and the solution ordering guide.

Get the datasheet
Datasheet

OcNOS-DC Datasheet

Full OcNOS-DC specification: the EVPN-VXLAN and Ethernet for AI feature set, software SKUs, supported hardware platforms, and the solution ordering guide.

Get the datasheet