Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Friday, March 29, 2024

Cumulus Networks Rolls Switching Appliance 

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Cumulus Networks rolled out new switching hardware and open networking software this week packaged as a turnkey appliance that targets new adopters of web-scale networking along with earlier adopters accustomed to sourcing datacenter network platforms as appliances.

Cumulus, Mountain View, Calif., said Thursday (Jan. 19) its new "Express" offering includes 1G through 100G platforms pre-loaded with new Linux network operating system features along with accompanying optics and cables.

The new platform comes with a pre-loaded switch that includes a Linux network OS license along with a range of switching capacities, including 1 G-T, 10G/10 G-T, 40G and 100G. The network appliance also includes pre-activated license key and standard cables and optics designed to speed deployment.

The networking specialist claims the platform introduction builds on market momentum over the last year that included the introduction of enterprise cloud offerings such as an OpenStack plugin. It also achieved certification on the VMware (NYSE: VMW) NSX vSphere network virtualization platform targeting software-defined datacenters.

Cumulus Networks previously teamed with software network virtualization specialist Midokura on an open networking initiative aimed at creating alternatives to various OpenFlow networking implementations. Those efforts have been encouraged by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and other members of the Open Compute Project seeking to encourage switch makers to roll out standard platforms that can handle a variety of network operating systems.

About the author: George Leopold

George Leopold has written about science and technology for more than 30 years, focusing on electronics and aerospace technology. He previously served as executive editor of Electronic Engineering Times. Leopold is the author of "Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom" (Purdue University Press, 2016).

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