Open Networking
What is Open Networking?
Open Networking is a new approach to networking – one that disrupts the outdated and limiting traditional way of networking and instead provides you full stack control over your network.
Open Networking disaggregates the hardware and software and gives you the freedom to choose innovative hardware and software that fits best to your needs.
Open Networking unlocks the full potential of your network stack by giving you the ability to fully control and build own applications, improving the operation, management and monitoring of your network.
Continue reading this page to learn more about the benefits of Open Networking: Understand why more and more users – from small companies to billion-dollar tech giants – are choosing to ditch the outdated Traditional Networking approach and are switching to future-proof Open Networking and why Open Networking is here to stay.
is a chance to make networking better.
Let’s make it better,
together!
Benefits of Open Networking
Thanks to the disaggregated nature of Open Networking you have the freedom to choose the hardware and software that suits your needs best
Open Networking Hardware
Choose from a range of premium quality Open Networking switches, ranging from 1 to 400 GbE
With Open Hardware, the ability to use standard, un-coded peripherals (often from the same manufacturer) can reduce total network costs by five figures in even small to medium enterprises.
- Unlocked hardware
- Built by billion-dollar OEMs
- Same quality, half the price (no marketing, software development, etc.)
- Switches for every use case
- Reusable by simply installing another NOS
- Warranty and support
Open Networking Software
Choose from a range of Network Operating Systems and Software Tools – from Open Source to Commercial Solutions
One of the most important advantages of Open Networking is the switch adapting to different roles by simply changing the switch operating system and software tools.
- Many switch Operating Systems for different use cases
- Choose the switch OS that fits you best
- Change the OS but keep the hardware and reuse it
- Highly cost efficient, especially for L2 / L3
- Open source OS offer adjustability
- Commercial OS offer continuous support and testing
This innovative approach, gives you access to some great benefits
Flexibility
Choose the right soft- and hardware for your specific needs
Reusability
Flexibly reuse the hardware platform for other purposes
Scalability
Scale from small to hyperscale – your network grows together with you
Greener
Automation and optimized networking functions improve energy efficiency
Simplified Architecture
Build flexible and agile network topologies
Greater Agility
Create specific flows to control your environment
Automation
Automated configurations, rollouts and operations, that free up your time
Lower Cost
Up to 50% CapEx savings
The Comparison
Let’s check how Traditional Networking compares to Open Networking
One of the biggest differences between them, is the level of freedom and choice you are allowed to have
Traditional Networking
Fully Locked In
No choice possible, you are bound to the vendor
Open Networking
Complete Freedom
Freely choose your software and hardware
The Comparison
Let’s check how Traditional Networking compares to Open Networking
One of the biggest differences between them, is the level of freedom and choice you are allowed to have
Traditional Networking
Fully Locked In
No choice possible, you are bound to the vendor
No Software Choice
You don’t have the freedom to choose the Network Operating System that suits you. You need to work around with what the vendor provides.
No Hardware Choice
You are locked to the hardware the vendor offers. Expensive support rates and original accessories are adding additional cost.
Open Networking
Complete Freedom
Freely choose your software and hardware
Free Choice of Software
You can choose from a broad range of operating systems, software tools and services. Make the software work for you, by using automation tools.
Free Choice of Hardware
You can choose from a broad range of high quality hardware manufacturers, each with different models and different strengths.
Even More
Let’s compare a few more topics.
| Traditional Networking | vs. | Open Networking |
|---|---|---|
|
Full control at network vendor |
Network Control |
Full control in your hands |
|
Special vendor certification required |
Knowledge to Operate the Network |
Only basic Linux knowledge required |
|
Hidden costs on additional software, training, mandatory certification etc. |
Cost Transparency |
Full transparency upfront, free and open source community tools are additionally available |
|
Manageable via custom, vendor specific CLI |
User Interface |
Easily manageable via CLI or Shell – learn once, use everywhere |
|
Time consuming and tedious workflows and tasks |
Time Consumption |
Automated operation workflows free up time and resources |
|
Future migration or upgrades limited, due to proprietary protocols – you are locked to the vendor |
Migration & Upgrade |
Easy and fast migration to anywhere you want to go, thanks to open protocols |
|
Limited reusability |
Hardware Reusability |
Possibility to flexibly repurpose old hardware and make it become a switch, router, SDN solution, load balancer, aggregator or packet broker |
|
Energy hungry solutions |
Energy |
Greener and smarter solution through network stack offloads and automation (e.g. does the whole network need to run all the time, even on the weekend?) |
Traditional Networking
vs.
Open Networking
| vs. | Traditional Networking | Open Networking |
|---|---|---|
|
Network Control |
Full control at network vendor |
Full control in your hands |
|
Knowledge to Operate the Network |
Special vendor certification required |
Only basic Linux knowledge required |
|
Cost Transparency |
Hidden costs on additional software, training, mandatory certification etc. |
Full transparency upfront, free and open source community tools are additionally available |
|
User Interface |
Manageable via custom, vendor specific CLI |
Easily manageable via CLI or Shell – learn once, use everywhere |
|
Time Consumption |
Time consuming and tedious workflows and tasks |
Automated operation workflows free up time and resources |
|
Migration & Upgrade |
Future migration or upgrades limited, due to proprietary protocols – you are locked to the vendor |
Easy and fast migration to anywhere you want to go, thanks to open protocols |
|
Hardware Reusability |
Limited reusability |
Possibility to flexibly repurpose old hardware and make it become a switch, router, SDN solution, load balancer, aggregator or packet broker |
|
Energy |
Energy hungry solutions |
Greener and smarter solution through network stack offloads and automation (e.g. does the whole network need to run all the time, even on the weekend?) |
Your Way2Open
Congrats! You made the first step into your Open Networking journey by informing yourself on the benefits of Open Networking. Make the next step to 100% unlock your network by utilizing Open Networking and get in touch with us.
With The Open Networking Expert, you have a trusted and experienced partner at your side, that will make the rest of your journey a breeze.
STORDIS will guide you through the available options and help you with deciding on the solution that suits your needs best.
Start your Way2Open together with STORDIS.
Your Way2Open
Get in touch with us and find out how you can easily switch from outdated traditional networking to
future-proof Open Networking