Networking Definition · Bare Metal · Merchant Silicon

What Is a White Box Switch?

A white box switch is a bare metal Ethernet switch built on merchant silicon and sold without a bundled operating system, so the operator chooses the network operating system it runs. IP Infusion develops OcNOS-DC and ships it as complete, validated systems on open switch hardware, so the switch and its software arrive tested as one product.

See validated switches About OcNOS-DC
40+validated open platforms
700+OcNOS features mapped
Tomahawk, TridentBroadcom DC switch silicon
51,200 GbpsTomahawk5 switching capacity

A switch sold as hardware, with the software chosen separately

A traditional switch is one product: the vendor designs the hardware, writes the operating system, and sells both together. A white box switch splits that product in two. The hardware is built by a manufacturer that sells to many buyers, and the network operating system (NOS) is bought, licensed, and upgraded on its own. The same idea is also called a bare metal switch or an open network switch.

  • Bare metal. The switch ships with a boot environment, typically ONIE (the Open Network Install Environment), and no production operating system. ONIE finds and installs the NOS image the operator points it at.
  • Merchant silicon. Packets are forwarded by a commercial switching ASIC that the chip vendor sells to many hardware makers. Forwarding capacity, table sizes, and buffer depth are properties of the chip, so two switches on the same chip share the same data plane limits.
  • A separate NOS. Routing protocols, the command line, automation interfaces, and telemetry all come from the operating system. The operator can keep the same NOS across hardware generations and suppliers.
  • White box and brite box. A brite box is the same class of hardware sold under a known brand, often with an operating system preinstalled. The design is the same; the difference is who stands behind the combination.

A white box switch is one expression of network disaggregation, the broader practice of buying hardware and software as separate layers. The service provider version of the same idea is the white box router.

Inside a white box switch

Every white box switch has the same three layers. Knowing which layer decides what makes it easier to compare platforms and to plan a refresh.

The switching ASIC

The forwarding chip sets port speeds, total switching capacity, table scale, and buffer size. The OcNOS-DC platforms use Broadcom Trident and Tomahawk chips, and the Tomahawk family carries the highest capacities.

Leaf-spine DC fabric

The control CPU and boot loader

A small x86 or ARM CPU runs the operating system and the routing protocols, and programs the ASIC through the chip vendor's software development kit. ONIE on the CPU board installs the NOS, which is what makes the hardware open to more than one operating system.

Hardware Compatibility List

The network operating system

The NOS turns the hardware into a switch: BGP, EVPN-VXLAN, the CLI, NETCONF and YANG models, and streaming telemetry. It is the part the operations team lives with every day, so it deserves as much scrutiny as the hardware.

What is a network operating system

What a white box switch gives you, and what it asks of you

The model changes who owns which decision. That brings real freedom, and it moves work that an integrated vendor used to do onto someone else.

What it gives you

  • Hardware choice. Several manufacturers build switches on the same chips, so a platform can be sourced from more than one supplier and compared on price, lead time, and port mix.
  • Software that outlives the hardware. Configuration, automation, and operator skills stay with the NOS when the hardware is refreshed.
  • Priced separately. Hardware and software are separate line items, so each can be evaluated on its own terms.
  • Open interfaces. A modern NOS exposes NETCONF, YANG, and streaming telemetry, which suits automated operations.

What it asks of you

  • Integration. Someone has to make the NOS, the hardware, and the optics work together, including features that depend on a specific chip.
  • A support model. With two or three suppliers, a fault needs a clear owner. Without one, time goes into proving whose layer caused it.
  • Validation. Every NOS release on every hardware model needs testing before it reaches production. An operator building its own white box estate carries that test burden itself.

A validated system addresses all three. OcNOS Systems are open routers and switches delivered ready to deploy: OcNOS runs on hardware from the Hardware Compatibility List, each platform is validated by IP Infusion, and the Feature Matrix shows which of 700+ features each platform supports before anything is bought.

Where white box switches run today

White box switches are most common in data centers, including large enterprise data centers, MSPs, and AI infrastructure, where many identical switches make hardware choice and automation pay off. Service providers apply the same model to routers.

Data center leaf-spine fabrics

A routed IP fabric of leaves and spines with an EVPN-VXLAN overlay where workloads need Layer 2. Identical switches in every rack make it a natural fit.

What is an IP fabric

AI back-end fabrics

GPU clusters need high-capacity Ethernet with lossless transport. OcNOS-DC is validated on three Tomahawk5 platforms with 51,200 Gbps of switching capacity each.

Switches for AI networking

Management networks

The out-of-band network that reaches every console and management port. The HCL lists three Trident3 X2 platforms for this management role.

OcNOS-DC

White box switches validated with OcNOS-DC

OcNOS-DC is the IP Infusion network operating system for data center switches. The platforms below are the OcNOS-DC entries in the Hardware Compatibility List, grouped by Broadcom ASIC. Roles are the HCL roles: dc for data center fabric, mgmt for management networks, and ipodwdm for platforms listed for IP over DWDM.

ASICSwitching capacityPlatformsHCL roles
Tomahawk5 (BCM78900)51,200 GbpsEdgecore AIS800-64D; UfiSpace S9321-64E; UfiSpace S9321-64EOdc; S9321-64EO also ipodwdm
Tomahawk4 (BCM56990)25,600 GbpsEdgecore AS9736-64D (DCS520)dc
Tomahawk3 (BCM56980)12,800 GbpsEdgecore AS9716-32D (DCS510)dc
Tomahawk2 (BCM56970)6,400 GbpsEdgecore AS7816-64X (DCS500)dc
Trident4 (BCM56880)12,800 GbpsEdgecore AS9726-32DB (DCS240); UfiSpace S9300-32Ddc, ipodwdm
Trident3 X7 (BCM56870)3,200 GbpsEdgecore AS7726-32X (DCS204); UfiSpace S9110-32Xdc
Trident3 X7 (BCM56873)2,000 GbpsEdgecore AS7326-56X (DCS203)dc
Trident3 X5 (BCM56770)2,000 GbpsUfiSpace S8901-54XC; UfiSpace S8901-54XC-16Gdc
Trident3 X4 (BCM56771)1,080 GbpsEdgecore AS5835-54X (DCS201); Edgecore AS5835-54T (DCS202)dc
Trident3 X2 (BCM56277)120 GbpsEdgecore AS4625-54T (EPS121); Celestica DS1000; UfiSpace S6301-56STmgmt
  • One software line across the range. OcNOS covers service provider routing (OcNOS-SP) and data center switching (OcNOS-DC), with 40+ validated platforms in total.
  • Licensing in tiers. OcNOS-DC licenses come in IPBASE, MGMT, and PLUS tiers. The Feature Matrix maps each feature to tiers and platforms.
  • For hardware makers. A manufacturer that wants its own switch to ship with a production NOS can embed it through OcNOS for OEMs.

Integrated switch, white box, or validated open system

Three ways to buy a data center switch. The difference is less about the hardware than about who integrates, who tests, and who can be changed later.

QuestionTraditional integrated switchSelf-assembled white boxValidated open system
Hardware sourceThe system vendorAny manufacturer the operator selectsOpen hardware from a published compatibility list
Operating systemFixed to the vendorChosen by the operatorChosen by the operator, delivered with the hardware
Who integratesThe vendorThe operatorThe software supplier
Who tests each releaseThe vendorThe operatorThe software supplier, per platform
Change hardware laterUsually means changing the OSYes, if the NOS supports the new modelYes, within the validated list
Feature visibilityVendor datasheetsDepends on the NOS supplierPublished per platform before purchase

White Box Switch FAQ

What is a white box switch?
A white box switch is a bare metal Ethernet switch built on merchant silicon and sold without a bundled operating system. The operator installs the network operating system of its choice, usually through a boot environment such as ONIE. The hardware, the switching chip, and the software can each come from a different supplier.
Is a bare metal switch the same as a white box switch?
In practice, yes. Bare metal stresses that the switch ships with no production operating system; white box stresses that the hardware is not tied to one software brand. A brite box is the same kind of hardware sold under a known brand, often with an operating system already installed. All three run on merchant silicon.
Who are the white box networking vendors?
White box networking involves three kinds of vendor: the hardware makers who build the switch, the silicon vendor whose ASIC forwards the packets, and the software supplier whose network operating system runs on it. OcNOS-DC is validated on switches from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica built on Broadcom Tomahawk and Trident silicon, and IP Infusion ships OcNOS on this hardware as complete, validated systems.
What operating system runs on a white box switch?
Any network operating system that supports that hardware and its switching chip. Open source and commercial options exist, and the choice decides the routing features, the automation interfaces, and who supports the software. OcNOS-DC is the IP Infusion network operating system for data center switches, and the OcNOS Feature Matrix shows which features each validated platform supports.
Are white box switches ready for production networks?
The hardware is: it uses the same classes of merchant silicon found across the industry. The risk sits in the combination. A given operating system release, hardware model, and optic has to be tested together, and someone has to own the result. A validated system, where the software supplier tests and ships the combination, moves that work off the operator.
Is a white box switch cheaper than a traditional switch?
Hardware and software are priced separately, so the operator can compare each on its own terms and keep the same software as hardware generations change. The full comparison also has to count integration, testing, and support time. The useful measure is total cost over the life of the network, not the price of one box.
Can white box switches be used for AI networking?
Yes. AI back-end fabrics are built from high-capacity Ethernet switches, and several are open hardware. OcNOS-DC is validated on three Broadcom Tomahawk5 platforms with 51,200 Gbps of switching capacity: the Edgecore AIS800-64D, the UfiSpace S9321-64E, and the UfiSpace S9321-64EO.

Choosing a white box switch? Start with the validated list.

Check which switches run OcNOS-DC, see the features each one supports, or ask an IP Infusion engineer to match a platform to your fabric.

Hardware Compatibility List Feature Matrix Contact us

Go deeper. Take it with you.

Two short, technical downloads that go further than this page: the full OcNOS-DC datasheet and the EVPN-VXLAN data center reference.

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
Solution Brief

EVPN-VXLAN Data Center Fabric

Carrier-grade leaf-spine data center fabric: symmetric IRB, Type-2/Type-5 routes, and distributed anycast gateway.

Get the brief