Dell EMC Open Networks - three fruitful years since the launch of this initiative

Tom Burns, Senior Vice President Networking, Service Provider and Enterprise Infrastructure, Dell EMC

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that three years have passed since we launched the Open Networking initiative in 2014. Before launch, we already clearly understood that customers needed much more than suppliers of traditional proprietary network solutions could offer them.

Customers needed innovative solutions and free choice. The Open Networks initiative is based on a simple principle: the separation of network switching equipment from its software. A simple, but at the same time very important step for the industry where the hardware and software were inextricably linked, combined and monetized as a whole.

We began by launching the industry's first open network switch using the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE), which supports Cumulus Linux, our first partner in this area, Cumulus Networks.
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In 2015, we expanded our network operating system partnership with companies such as Big Switch Networks, IP Infusion and Pluribus Networks, and launched a family of open network switches with connectivity from 10 to 100GbE. Today, we are the only OEM player in the network solutions market that offers a wide range of solutions and provides flexibility and infrastructure protection.

In January 2016, we introduced a new version of our network operating system Operating System 10 (OS10), which disaggregates network software and meets the latest requirements for open source modularity. The base module of this operating system OS10 Open Edition is offered to customers for free and works with an open unmodified Linux kernel. Currently, several customers are testing and deploying this basic version.

In March 2016, we announced a partnership with Microsoft in the development and implementation of Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) modules as part of the Open Compute Project (OCP) project to help develop the IT industry and promote wider adoption of open technologies. Our OS10 Open Edition software is a basic element for SONiC. So we help large and small enterprises accelerate the deployment of full-featured Linux network software based on open source components.

In the same year, thanks to the OS10 Open Edition operating system, we contributed to the OpenSwitch project, which is a completely open, disaggregated basic subsystem, which includes abstraction levels of equipment and platforms for network switching applications. The OpenSwitch project, led by the Linux Foundation, aims to develop an open network operating system.

At the end of last year, we released OS10 Enterprise Edition Beta, which provides customers with standard network functions, interfaces and script execution capabilities, as well as Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols, policy control and the traditional command line interface (CLI) of a network switch. One of the beta testers OS10 Enterprise Edition was the University of pieces. Indiana, which has already published the initial test results of our OS10 Open Edition ( OS10 - A First Look ).

“For three years now we have been forming an ecosystem of reliable providers of open network technologies, which, through joint efforts, will be able to provide customers with a single point of contact, reporting and experience in the field of network technologies. Our open network concept gives users the means to fully exploit the power of networks. This helps us reliable and trusted partners. Our joint efforts enable us to combine the level of consultation, support, and security that is characteristic of proprietary solutions with the flexibility inherent in open networks, ”comments Mikhail Orlenko, Head of Server and Network Solutions, Dell EMC in Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

Of the hundreds of customers currently working with Dell EMC open network solutions, I would like to highlight Verizon’s implementation of the industry’s largest infrastructure with virtualization of network functions based on OpenStack in five data centers in the United States. Dell EMC and several partners worked closely with Verizon to create this platform based on the OpenStack platform. In less than nine months, it went through different stages - from concept to deployment and commissioning of more than 50 racks in the data center.

Hostnet hosting company , located in the Netherlands, was another innovative customer that implemented Dell EMC open network solution to accelerate the development of its “infrastructure as a service” (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) offerings using DevOps methods. This project uses Dell EMC Open Networking network switches with Cumulus Linux software and Puppet automation software.

In the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Datacenter Networks for 2016, Dell EMC and VMware, combined by a common Dell Technologies group, were recognized as the most promising network solution providers (“visionaries”). Together, we are helping the network industry move to a new direction, which IDC calls the “third platform”. Analysts recommend choosing the most promising network solution providers, rather than just following someone’s example.


In early 2017, we expanded our open network solutions for corporate networks by announcing the latest N-series switches with high-speed ports with PoE + support, uplink ports 40GbE and support for third-party operating systems using ONIE tools. Simplified scalability and the ability to choose an operating system using these switches help protect customers' investments and confidently grow their business.

Over the past three years, we have come an impressive way and continue to lead the market with open networking products, working with industry partners and contributing to open source projects. We will not stop there. Since recent market research suggests that in 2017 we can expect explosive growth in the use of branded solutions (brite boxes), Dell EMC intends to lead this trend and continue to raise the bar so that other vendors can follow us.

Looking ahead, I see a continuous series of announcements that expand our vision of open network solutions, Open Networking. Some of them are presented to me as multi-speed switching platforms of the new generation 100GbE for data centers and corporate networks, which will expand the implementation of our products in data centers of providers, and will also increase the number of customers and partners integrating OS10 software into their own solutions.

Frankly, it inspires me even more than three years ago. We will continue to provide customers with new networking opportunities and the flexibility they need to accelerate innovation and introduce new services in their business.

For more information on Dell EMC open networking solutions, visit our home page .