SONiC is a Debian Linux-based, open-source network operating system developed by Microsoft in 2016 and was designed for its rapidly growing Azure cloud infrastructure. Utilizing a containerized microservice architecture, it hosts applications within independent Docker containers and uses the Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) for hardware abstraction.

SONiC boasts the fastest feature development velocity of any previous NOS with its community of over 4,000+ contributors. It is gaining industry traction, being adopted by major players in hyperscale data center, enterprise, and service provider market segments. With vendor independence, customizability, strong community support, and cost-saving benefits, SONiC offers an attractive choice for organizations seeking enriched features while reducing total cost of ownership (TCO). Additionally, SONiC is interoperable with top industry hardware platforms and chipsets.

SONiC’s recent deployments encompass diverse use cases and industries, including data center fabric, data center interconnect, LAN, enterprise, telco, and edge computing.

SONiC can be challenging to adopt on your own, especially if your organization has limited expertise and engineering resources. However, with the right resources and guidance, SONiC can be successfully adopted by organizations of any size. You can start with one or two switches and scale up as needed.

With Hardware Nation’s True SONiC, you can confidently adopt SONiC, regardless of your deployment size or engineering resources. Hardware Nation’s True SONiC is an integrated approach that provides expert guidance, professional services, training, support, orchestration, and management all in one integrated package.

You can buy switches with SONiC pre-installed or download SONiC separately, depending on your needs. Enterprise customers typically choose the pre-installed bundle option with the manufacturer’s enhanced and hardened version of enterprise SONiC, such as those provided by Edge-Core, NVIDIA, Juniper, and Micas Networks. If you want to develop and manage your own software, as is typical with hyperscalers and organizations with in-house engineering resources, consider buying the bare metal switch and downloading the community version of SONiC. Since SONiC is open source, you can choose a mix of vendor support and your own in-house efforts, depending on your experience and resources.

Yes, there are several versions of SONiC. Here’s an overview: 

• The community version is the free and open-source version of SONiC. It is developed and maintained by the SONiC community and is available for download from GitHub. The community version of SONiC is a powerful and flexible network operating system, but it is not yet a plug-and-play solution for mission-critical deployments. It requires software development and customization to meet the specific needs of your environment.
• Enterprise SONiC distributions from major vendors such as Broadcom, Edge-Core, NVIDIA, Juniper, UfiSpace, and Micas Networks are enhanced with additional features and enterprise-grade support, making them ready to use for mission-critical deployments.
• Hardware Nation’s True SONiC is a turnkey solution that includes everything you need for a successful SONiC deployment, including guidance, hardware, software, support, professional services, and network management and orchestration tools.

When choosing a version of SONiC, it is important to consider your needs and requirements. The community version is free and open-source, making it ideal for research or in-house development. Enterprise SONiC distributions from major vendors are stable, secure, and ready for mission-critical deployments.

Yes, SONiC is an open-source NOS and is available for free. Major vendors also typically provide their enterprise SONiC version for free with a purchase of their platforms and SONiC support. As an open-source NOS, you always have the option and freedom to purchase additional uplift services, migration support, training, and network management tools from any vendor on the market.

Yes, you will receive a plug-and-play platform with SONiC pre-installed as part of Hardware Nation’s True SONiC solution. True SONiC represents our integrated approach, seamlessly combining multiple vendors’ offerings into a cohesive solution for the customer.

With this solution, you will get 24/7/365 support for both hardware and software, as well as expert guidance, professional services, training, and network management and orchestration tools, all from a single vendor, just as you would with a traditional networking vendor.