White Box Switches
Increase agility & lower costs with white box switches powered by merchant silicon.
What is a White Box Switch?
With white-box switches, enterprises can realize a number of benefits, including vendor independence, reduced hardware and operational costs, more flexibility and greater customization with an array of software tools, easier to scale without incurring the costs associated with proprietary solutions, and greater innovation by using open-spec hardware and software.
Benefits of white box switches
Disaggregation and flexibility
Offers expanded hardware choice, validated by the vendor for streamlined deployment, and avoids vendor lock-in.
Openness and programmability
Maintains open standards while providing pre-built integrations and specialized features for easier use and extended functionality.
Rapid innovation and customization
Leverages community advancements with a focus on stability, offering vendor-specific optimizations.
Cost savings and operational efficiency
Reduction in CAPEX/OPEX, plus streamlined deployment, automation, management, and enterprise support.
White box switches are generally more cost-effective than traditional, proprietary switches from established vendors. This is due to the separation of hardware and software, allowing businesses to purchase less expensive hardware and choose their preferred network operating system (NOS) and support.
White box switches offer greater flexibility and customization options compared to traditional switches. Organizations can select the NOS that best suits their specific requirements and modify or upgrade it as needed. This allows for greater control over network functionality and better adaptability to changing business needs.
With white box switches, organizations are not tied to a single vendor for both hardware and software. This eliminates vendor lock-in and allows businesses to choose the best-of-breed solutions for their network infrastructure, fostering a more competitive market and promoting innovation.
White box switches can be easily scaled up or down to meet the evolving needs of a growing or changing network environment. The disaggregated nature of white box switches allows for greater agility in adapting to new technologies and network architectures, making them a suitable choice for dynamic and rapidly expanding businesses.
What is Driving White Box Adoption?
Proprietary Vendor Lock-In
White-box switches provide organizations with greater choice and independence from proprietary vendors, reducing vendor lock-in and increasing competition in the market.
Reduced IT Budgets
White-box switches are typically less expensive than proprietary, traditional switches, making them an attractive option for organizations looking to upgrade their network infrastructure without breaking the budget.
Lack of Customization
Proprietary switches can be limited in their ability to be customized and integrated with existing network infrastructure and management tools. White-box switches provide greater customization options, allowing organizations to better align their network infrastructure with their specific needs and requirements.
Supply Chain Challenges
The IT hardware industry is facing several challenges, including component shortages, supply chain disruptions, shipping delays, and price increases. As organizations struggle to find the hardware they need, more are turning to white-box switches, which typically have better availability.
Amid recent supply chain challenges faced by traditional vendors, many organizations began transitioning to a modern open networking model, which can be transformative; however, successful implementation requires collaboration with a multi-vendor partner with years of real-world experience.
Amid recent supply chain challenges faced by traditional vendors, many organizations began transitioning to a modern open networking model, which can be transformative; however, successful implementation requires collaboration with a vendor-neutral partner with years of real-world experience.
What are the Benefits of White Box Switches?
Freedom of Choice
Choose your hardware and software based on your needs. Switch vendors include Edge-Core, Micas Networks, and UfiSpace, and NOS vendors include SONiC, and IP Infusion.
Reduced Cost
Significant CapEx and OpEx savings over traditional networking.
Faster Innovation
Innovate faster with a DevOps and community approach.
Automation
Reduce costs and save time with automated rollouts and operations.
White Box Switches Use Cases
Data Center Networking
White box switches offer similar functionality and performance to traditional, proprietary switches but with the added benefits of flexibility, programmability, and interoperability. They can be used for various data center applications such as top-of-rack (ToR) switching, access layer switching, leaf-spine architecture, network virtualization, and software-defined networking (SDN).
Enterprise Networking
White box switches can be used to build high-performance, cost-effective enterprise networks for organizations of all sizes. They can be used for various applications such as access layer switching, network segmentation, network virtualization, and software-defined networking (SDN).
Carriers
White box switches can be used to used to build and manage large-scale, high-performance telecommunications networks. Specific telecom use cases include 5G networks, mobile backhaul networks, access networks, and optical transport networks.
Service Provider Networks
White box switches can be used in service provider networks to support a wide range of services such as internet, cloud, and VPN services. They can be used for various applications such as core routing, edge routing, network virtualization, and software-defined networking (SDN).
Campus Networking
White box switches can be used in campus networks to provide fast and reliable networking for students, faculty, and staff. They provide the ability to run custom network operating systems and applications, enabling campus networks to tailor their infrastructure to specific needs and requirements.
IoT and Edge Networks
White box switches can be used in Internet of Things (IoT) networks to provide low-latency and high-bandwidth networking for connected devices. They can be used for various applications such as edge computing, network segmentation, and IoT device management.
White Box vs Bare Metal Switches
White box switches come with a preloaded network operating system (NOS), while bare metal switches only have the ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) bootloader. When a NOS is loaded onto a bare metal switch, it effectively becomes a white box switch. Both types are Linux-based, allowing network administrators to customize them to their organization’s needs. The NOS for these switches often comes from third-party vendors like SONiC, Pica8, or IP Infusion, though some switch vendors provide their own NOS. Traditional switches, in contrast, require proprietary NOS (e.g., Juniper Junos OS or Cisco IOS). While the terms “white box” and “bare metal” switches are often used interchangeably, they do have distinct differences.
How Can We Help You Succeed?
White box switches can be transformative for your organization, but knowing where to start can be overwhelming. Since 2017, our seasoned network engineers have deployed solutions powered by Cumulus Linux, Pica8, IP Infusion, and SONiC. We have navigated deployment challenges, gaining a deep understanding of risks and roadblocks associated with open networking. Our expertise and close ties within the ecosystem, including hardware vendors such as Edge-Core, Arista, NVIDIA, Celestica, Dell, and UfiSpace, position us uniquely to guide your white box switches adoption.
Experience
Leveraging years of open networking and infrastructure experience across diverse industries, we ensure seamless integration across your entire technology stack.
Partnerships
We have deep relationships with the top disaggregate hardware, software, and solutions vendors.
End-to-End Networking Solutions
Our team of network architects builds next-gen networks tailored to your unique use case and provides end-to-end solutions from discovery to deployment and management.
Vendor Neutrality
We follow a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral approach to ensure you get the best holistic solution based on your needs.
Our Strategic Partners
We are a Trusted Open Networking Source
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