As data traffic volumes continue to grow and services like SD-WAN and cloud computing transform the market, a new paradigm for networking equipment development is needed. A more flexible approach, based on disaggregated hardware and software, can give CSPs the freedom of choice over their networking technology stack and a common platform to manage multi-vendor infrastructure.
Why operators are embracing network disaggregation and NOS
Network disaggregation refers to the decoupling of software and hardware in network devices. As the functionality of a switch, router, or other networking device becomes software that can run on a wide variety of hardware platforms, the Network Operation System (NOS) becomes independent from the choice of hardware. With network disaggregation, the industry is shifting from proprietary, closed, switching and routing appliances from a single vendor towards decoupled, open software and hardware components that can be combined to form complete, open switching and routing solutions.
Today CSPs have a very complex control plane, managing many proprietary operating systems (Cisco IOS, JunOS, etc.). This adds expense to their operations. Consolidating into one common NOS, using open-source and standard components with large economies of scale, would reduce complexity and cost.
Although it will require CSPs to adapt their internal skillsets to a new model, breaking up monolithic systems into flexible components under a common platform will help CSPs to avoid vendor lock-in, improve agility and flexibility in network design and service deployment, and enable innovation, through a collaborative ecosystem of hardware and software component vendors.
For several years now, CSPs have been trying to disaggregate the RAN with initiatives such as open-RAN. They should also take the opportunity of the NOS to disaggregate their fixed WAN infrastructure (switches and routers). Datacenter switching and routing is a good place to start with NOS, followed by experimenting with Layer 2 WAN aggregation switches. As the technology proves capable and as they develop the software expertise in-house to adapt NOS to build their own solutions, CSPs could expand to edge and even core routers.
Open-source NOS options
SONiC is an open-source NOS based on Linux, which offers a full suite of network functionality, like border gateway protocol (BGP) and remote direct memory access (RDMA), and has been production-hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud service providers. It was originally developed by Microsoft and hosted by the Open Compute Project before moving to the Linux Foundation in 2022. SONiC is supported by an active community of users and developers and can be installed in a rapidly growing ecosystem of devices from vendors, including Cisco, Juniper, and Ribbon. Orange cited the ecosystem health as a crucial factor in its decision to select SONiC.
Other open-source NOS options exist. A notable example is DENT, which is also hosted by the Linux Foundation. The project counts many important contributors, including Amazon, Edgecore, and Keysight, amongst others.
Proprietary NOS options
Several proprietary NOS exist; these are licensed on a commercial basis by technology vendors. A popular example is Drivenets. According to the company, the DriveNets Network Operating System (DNOS) is a commercial offering of cloud-native, distributed networking software, built on containerized microservices, which creates a unified, shared infrastructure over a distributed architecture. DNOS supports multiple service offerings at scale, including routing, from core to access, and hosting for third-party services. It is hardware agnostic and supports core, aggregation/peering, edge, and access routing, as well as hosted third-party services.
Another vendor of proprietary NOS is IPInfusion. Its product, OcNOS, supports traditional services like Layer 2 VPN, Layer 3 VPN, Virtual Private Wire Service, and Virtual Private LAN Service. It provides advanced services like Ethernet VPN with traditional and next-generation transport, including Multiprotocol Label Switching, Virtual Extensible LAN, Segment Routing (SR), and SRv6.
Orange sees many benefits in using disaggregated NOS
During the Telecom Infra Project’s recent FYUZ event in Madrid, multinational operator Orange and Edgecore Networks, a provider of open networking products, announced that they are teaming up to deliver a disaggregated Layer 2 access network for Orange’s enterprise customers. Edgecore’s hardware will run Orange’s network operating system (NOS), which is based on SONiC, an open-source NOS. The first commercial deployment of customer facing Layer 2 aggregation switches is expected in January in a data center in Rennes, France.
Orange has selected Edgecore switches to deliver connectivity solutions for hundreds of access Points of Presence (PoPs). These locations provide enterprise customers with 1G, 10G, and 100G access services. The disaggregated Edgecore hardware platform comes pre-loaded with the ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) software installer, which automatically loads the NOS. Orange has developed its own SONiC distribution for the NOS, which has a customized user interface and links to its IT systems.
Edgecore’s aggregation products are based on Broadcom’s StrataDNX family of chipsets and are compatible with a variety of open source and commercial NOS such as those of ADVA, Altran, Casa Systems, Cisco, Drivenets, Exaware, Infinera, IPInfusion, and RTBrick and.
Jean Louis Le Roux, acting executive vice president of international networks at Orange, who is leading this initiative, explained to Omdia the motivations behind the decision to disaggregate hardware and software in their switches and routers.
Firstly, as the price charged per MB in enterprise services decreases faster than the cost per MB, Orange needs to become more cost-efficient. Orange estimates that by running its Layer 2 aggregation switches with an open-source NOS, they can reduce their related costs by 25% over five years. Two-thirds of these savings will be capex-related, as they will be using white box hardware. The remaining one-third of cost savings will be opex-related, mainly from the avoidance of maintenance and support fees.
Secondly, to transform its business, Orange wants to embrace a software development culture within its organization. Such projects enable them to hire and retain software developers by offering them the opportunity to work on exciting projects. Orange’s own teams are responsible for customizing the NOS, and they hope that by upskilling staff, they will be able to gain greater control over their networks and stop being so reliant on their suppliers.
According to Le Roux, an additional unexpected benefit is an improvement in network procurement lead times, as white box hardware can be shipped much faster than proprietary equipment. Edgecore provides hardware to hyperscalers and can rapidly fulfill the relatively small orders that an operator like Orange is likely to place.
Conclusion
The telecom industry is being disrupted by innovations such as SD-WAN, 5G and the migration of applications to the cloud. The only way for telcos to prosper is to disrupt the networking industry that supplies them by embracing disaggregation. Separating the software from the hardware in the networking stack can not only reduce cost, it can also accelerate the pace at which operators can innovate.
Appendix
Author
Christoforos Sarantopoulos, Senior Analyst, Service Provider Networks
