Pica8 Extends SDN Leadership with the First OpenFlow 1.5 Implementation for White Box Switching


PicOS 2.8 Introduces More Programmability for Integrators to Build SDN Solutions



PALO ALTO, Calif. – Oct 11, 2016 – Pica8 Inc., the one-stop source for white box networking, today announced that it has extended its leadership in SDN and OpenFlow programmability with the first white box NOS to support OpenFlow 1.5 through OVS 2.5.  Available in PicOS 2.8, OpenFlow 1.5 adds support for egress tables, user-defined ordered lists, QoS features, and enhancements to TTP to include multicast tables that enable network operators to program their switching environment to better integrate with SDN applications.

“There are an increasing number of production SDN deployments, and they are gaining in scale and the level of control and automation,” said Sudhir Modali, director of product management at Pica8. “In PicOS 2.8, we’ve again raised the bar by being the first mainstream NOS to support OpenFlow 1.5, greatly increasing the richness of tools available for building solutions, for system integrators and carriers.”

With PicOS 2.8, integrators, carriers, and CSPs can build SDN solutions using standard protocols and methodologies, drastically reducing the time required for customization and time to market. For example, Pica8 has worked with Luxar Tech and Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity to deliver an integrated, actionable analytics platform built with an SDN monitoring fabric. This solution includes network packet brokers and controllers from Luxar Tech, and the Net Sensor network probes and the Net Reporter analytics system from R&S, and combines these with OpenFlow and TTP for granular flow management along with the economics of white box switching. With this solution, customers can actively monitor their production networks without a performance impact, while getting greater visibility into performance and statistics. The openness and programmability of PicOS simplifies the integration of the hardware, software controller, application, and other solution components.

“PicOS, with its extensive OpenFlow support, has dramatically simplified the integration of our network packet broker and controller products into real production environments,” said Henry Fung, Vice President of Networking Products at Luxar Tech. “Integration is the key to building solutions that customers want, and programmability with open protocols for the NOS is critical.”

“Together with Pica8 and Luxar Tech, we’ve enabled integrators and carriers to use SDN to build state-of-the-art traffic analytics solutions based on R&S Net Sensor and R&S Net Report in a simple and seamless way,” said Dirk Czepluch, VP Business Unit, Network Analytics at Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity.

In addition to performance monitoring for carriers, other customers are taking advantage of the programmability of PicOS to build SDN solutions for different use cases such as cloud service portals, live IP media broadcast networks, and access network solutions.

“The SDN ecosystem continues to mature and Pica8 continues to lead by being the first whitebox NOS to support new versions of the OpenFlow standard,” said Dan Conde, analyst at ESG.   “The programmability of an open NOS enables the creation of innovative solutions across many distinctive use cases. The programmability enables partners to deliver solutions quickly to meet customer needs.”

These solutions will be demonstrated at Pica8’s booth 81 at the SDN World Congress in The Hague, Netherlands, October 10th – 14th, 2016. PicOS 2.8 is currently in limited beta release and will be available for GA in early November.


About Pica8, Inc.

Pica8 is breaking barriers to truly customizable application performance through open networking. With its Linux-based PicOS™ network operating system, Pica8 enables custom traffic engineering and empowers white box and brite box switches to integrate easily with existing Layer 2/Layer 3 networks and deliver unlimited SDN scalability through OpenFlow. Since 2009, Pica8 has pioneered new open networking technologies such as Linux-based networking, CrossFlow networking, vASIC® and Table Type Patterns. Through ongoing innovation, Pica8 is a trusted brand that unlocks the potential of made-to-order networking, offering a mainstream alternative to legacy proprietary systems. For more information, visit www.pica8.com or follow us on Twitter @pica8.

 

About Luxar Tech

Luxar Tech develops industry-leading network visibility and optical connectivity solutions for service providers and large enterprises. Its software-defined visibility fabric enables building scalable traffic analytics farms. Its bleeding-edge fiber monitoring system provides exceptional precision identifying fiber faults. Its DWDM transport systems offer highly cost-effective data center inter-connectivity.

 

About Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity

Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity is an IT security company that protects companies and public institutions around the world against espionage and cyberattacks. With around 400 employees, the company develops and produces technologically leading solutions for information and network security. Development of the trusted IT solutions is based on the security-by-design approach for proactively preventing cyberattacks.

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