OcNOS vs SONiC: two open data-center network operating systems, compared
OcNOS-DC is a commercial, vendor-supported data-center NOS, qualified per platform and licensed separately from the switch. SONiC is an open-source NOS, run as a community build or through a vendor distribution. Both run on the same class of open Broadcom merchant-silicon hardware, so this is a comparison of two operating systems and their support models, not open versus proprietary. Scoped to the data center and AI fabric.
OcNOS and SONiC at a glance
OcNOS-DC and SONiC both run an open data-center fabric on white-box hardware. The difference is the operating model: an open-source NOS that your team or a distribution vendor integrates and supports, or a commercial NOS that IP Infusion qualifies and supports per platform.
What is the same
- Both install on open ONIE switches built on Broadcom merchant silicon.
- Both build BGP EVPN-VXLAN leaf-spine fabrics.
- Both carry PFC and ECN for RoCEv2 AI and RDMA back-end fabrics.
- Both offer OpenConfig-based, model-driven management.
What is different
- OcNOS-DC is integrated software, qualified by IP Infusion per switch. SONiC is a set of containers that your team or a distribution integrates.
- Support: commercial support from IP Infusion, versus community support or a distribution vendor.
- OcNOS-DC includes per-platform qualification and an IP Infusion support contract. With an open-source NOS, that work sits with your team or with a distribution vendor.
| Dimension | OcNOS-DC (IP Infusion) | SONiC (open source · community & commercial) |
|---|---|---|
| Type & governance | Commercial NOS from IP Infusion, sold in three editions: DC-MGMT, DC-IPBASE, and DC-PLUS. | Open-source NOS under the Apache License. Created by Microsoft for its Azure data centers, part of the Linux Foundation since 2022 and now hosted there as the SONiC Foundation, which partners with the Open Compute Project on SAI. |
| Support model | Commercial support from IP Infusion: 24 x 7 for Severity 1 issues, or 24 x 7 for all issues with Premium support. | The project describes SONiC as community supported. Vendors that ship SONiC on their switches set their own support terms. |
| Who integrates & qualifies | IP Infusion qualifies OcNOS-DC on each switch on the OcNOS Hardware Compatibility List. | Community: the operator owns the build, hardware validation, and patching. A commercial distribution takes on that work instead. |
| Hardware & silicon | 18 qualified ONIE switches from Edgecore, UfiSpace, and Celestica on Broadcom Trident and Tomahawk silicon. | ONIE images for Broadcom-based switches, and support for the ASICs that SAI supports. The same class of open hardware. |
| Underlay routing | BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS in every edition. | Routing runs in the bgp container on an open-source routing stack (FRRouting). |
| EVPN-VXLAN overlay | BGP EVPN-VXLAN with EVPN multihoming on the Trident-based switches (DC-IPBASE and DC-PLUS). Routed tenant features vary by switch model. | EVPN-VXLAN (RFC 7432 and RFC 8365) and EVPN multihoming are described in the SONiC design documents. The operator or the distribution confirms what a given build and switch carry. |
| AI / RDMA fabric | PFC with QoS over Layer 3, ECN, and ETS for RoCEv2 on all 18 switches. Dynamic Load Balancing and PFC deadlock detection and recovery in DC-PLUS, and Dynamic ECN on the Tomahawk 5 switches. The Feature Matrix lists each switch. | PFC, ECN statistics, and a PFC watchdog are described in the SONiC design documents. The lossless profile is tuned and validated by the operator or by the distribution. |
| Control-plane model | Integrated software: routing, switching, and management delivered together in each OcNOS-DC release, with one CLI. | Each module runs in its own Docker container, sharing state through a Redis database, over the SAI hardware abstraction. |
| Telemetry & management | Industry-standard CLI with commit and rollback, NETCONF, OpenConfig, and streaming telemetry in DC-PLUS. | A Click-based CLI, a Management Framework with a KLISH CLI and OpenConfig YANG models, gNMI telemetry, and configuration in CONFIG_DB loaded from config_db.json. |
| On-switch extensibility | Features come from the OcNOS roadmap. | Modules run as containers over SAI, so operators and vendors can add containers and platform support. |
| Lifecycle & upgrades | A published product life cycle, with software updates and upgrades under the support contract. | Warm reboot is described in the SONiC design documents. With a community build, the operator re-validates each upgrade on its own switches. |
| Licensing | Perpetual use license per edition, separate from the hardware purchase. | The community code carries no software license fee; commercial distributions are licensed by their vendor. |
| Best-fit user | Operators who want open hardware with one vendor accountable for the software and per-platform qualification. | Teams that build and run their own network software, or that buy a vendor distribution. |
SONiC capabilities vary by community build and by distribution; the SONiC column reflects the SONiC project and Linux Foundation pages listed below, as of October 2026. OcNOS capabilities are per the OcNOS-DC datasheet and the OcNOS Feature Matrix.
SONiC sources for the facts on this page:
- SONiC Foundation: Software for Open Networking in the Cloud
- Linux Foundation: SONiC Moves to the Linux Foundation (April 14, 2022)
- Linux Foundation: SONiC Foundation, OCP Global Summit 2026 (October 5, 2026)
- SONiC Wiki: FAQ (license, support, ASICs)
- SONiC Wiki: Architecture
- SONiC Wiki: Configuration
- sonic-buildimage: building SONiC images (ONIE)
- SONiC design: EVPN VXLAN
- SONiC design: EVPN VXLAN multihoming
- SONiC design: PFC watchdog
- SONiC design: WRED and ECN statistics
- SONiC design: Management Framework (KLISH CLI, OpenConfig, gNMI)
- SONiC design: gRPC (gNMI) telemetry
- SONiC design: warm reboot
Bottom line
OcNOS-DC delivers EVPN-VXLAN and the RoCEv2 lossless feature set as a commercially supported product, qualified per switch, with a perpetual use license that is separate from the hardware and one vendor accountable for the software. With SONiC, that integration and support work sits with your team or with the vendor of a distribution.
Same hardware, different software
OcNOS-DC and SONiC both install on open, ONIE-enabled switches built on Broadcom merchant silicon; SONiC drives the ASIC through the SAI hardware abstraction. So the decision is not open versus proprietary hardware. It is a choice between two operating systems and two support models on the same class of open hardware.
Architecture: containerized SONiC vs integrated OcNOS
SONiC runs each module in its own container. OcNOS-DC delivers routing, switching, and management as integrated software. Each model suits a different operating team.
SONiC decouples functions into containers over a Redis state store, which is useful for automation and modularity. OcNOS presents one integrated system, which simplifies validation, upgrades, and the support path. Neither model is universally better; they suit different operating teams.
Where the three models differ
Integration, validation, and patching sit with your team on community SONiC, and with the vendor on a commercial distribution or on OcNOS-DC. The other rows cover which hardware you can buy, where support comes from, and who owns the roadmap.
| Dimension | Community SONiC | Commercial SONiC | OcNOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integration, validation, patching | your team | the distribution vendor | IP Infusion |
| Hardware choice | any SAI platform you validate | the distribution platform list | qualified Edgecore, UfiSpace, and Celestica switches |
| Support path | community support | the vendor support organization | IP Infusion technical support |
| Roadmap influence | upstream contribution | the distribution vendor roadmap | requests to IP Infusion |
| Codebase governance | the SONiC community | the SONiC community | IP Infusion |
| Scope | data center | data center | data center (OcNOS-DC); service provider in OcNOS-SP |
On the first row a commercial distribution and OcNOS-DC do the same job. The difference shows up below it. A distribution's platform list is set by its vendor. OcNOS-DC is licensed separately from the hardware and qualified on switches from three vendors, so the platform stays a separate decision you can re-tender.
In the data center and AI fabric
This is where the two are closest. Both build the same standards-based fabric on the same silicon class, and the difference is who validates it on the switch you buy and who supports it afterwards.
Both OcNOS-DC and SONiC build this standards-based EVPN-VXLAN fabric, including the lossless RoCEv2 back-end for GPU clusters, on the same class of open Broadcom hardware. On OcNOS-DC, EVPN-VXLAN runs on the Trident-based switches and the Tomahawk spines carry the routed underlay. The Feature Matrix lists each feature per switch. Platform names are representative; the right switch depends on your port mix and scale.
The open hardware both run on
Both NOSes target this class of open switch. This is a representative set of the 18 qualified OcNOS-DC switches from Edgecore, UfiSpace, and Celestica:
Browse the full set of qualified platforms in the Hardware Compatibility List.
Data-center fabrics both build well
EVPN-VXLAN leaf-spine
A standards-based BGP EVPN-VXLAN fabric with EVPN multihoming. On OcNOS-DC it runs on the Trident-based switches in DC-IPBASE and DC-PLUS. Both NOSes build this; the difference is the delivery and support model.
AI / GPU back-end fabric
A lossless RoCEv2 back-end for GPU clusters with PFC, ECN, and ETS, plus Dynamic Load Balancing in DC-PLUS and Dynamic ECN on the Tomahawk 5 spines. OcNOS-DC delivers it qualified and supported on each switch on the Hardware Compatibility List.
400G and 800G spine
Spines on Broadcom Tomahawk 4 (64 x 400G) and Tomahawk 5 (64 x 800G) open platforms.
Enterprise and edge DC
A supported open-networking fabric for teams that want white-box economics without owning the NOS build pipeline, hardware validation, and patch cycle themselves.
Licensing and operating model
OcNOS-DC is licensed per edition with a perpetual use license, separate from the switch. SONiC is distributed under the Apache License, so the community code carries no software license fee, and running it puts integration, hardware validation, security hardening, and day-2 operations on the operator's team, or on a vendor that ships a supported distribution. OcNOS-DC covers the same work from a different starting point: a commercial NOS that arrives qualified and supported per platform, from a single vendor, on the same class of open hardware.
Who carries the work
Your team carries it
Your team owns the build pipeline, per-platform validation, security fixes, and day-2 operations for the switches you run.
A distribution vendor carries it
The vendor that ships the distribution takes on validation, maintenance, and support under its own terms and on its own platform list.
IP Infusion carries it
IP Infusion qualifies each switch and supports the software, and the switch and the software stay separate decisions, so the platform can be re-tendered without changing the NOS. OcNOS-SP shares the CLI if your network also runs service-provider roles.
Beyond the data center
This comparison is scoped to the data center, OcNOS-DC against SONiC. If your network also extends into service-provider or transport roles, that is a different use case and a different product line. OcNOS-SP carries a carrier-grade routing set, including MPLS, segment routing, and telecom timing, that is out of scope on this page. See OcNOS-SP for service-provider routing. The OcNOS vs Cisco comparison covers that discussion.
Where OcNOS fits
OcNOS-DC is built for teams that want the switch and the network operating system to stay separate decisions across a qualified multi-vendor platform list, with IP Infusion supporting the software, and a CLI shared with OcNOS-SP if the network also runs service-provider roles.
SONiC is an open-source project hosted by the Linux Foundation and the SONiC Foundation; it originated at Microsoft. Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Broadcom and its product names are trademarks of Broadcom Inc. The names of commercial SONiC distributions and of other products and companies referred to here are the trademarks of their respective owners. IP Infusion is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the SONiC project, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, Broadcom, or any SONiC distribution vendor. Comparisons reflect publicly documented information as of October 2026 and are provided for evaluation purposes only.