IP Infusion’s OcNOS 6.5 release is now live for general availability. With the OcNOS 6.5 release comes many exciting updates for the data center. Let us explore their highlights and how OcNOS 6.5 further advances the use cases and customer benefits of IP Infusion’s market-leading disaggregated networking solution for data centers.
Highlights of New Software Features
OpenConfig Data Model
In OcNOS 6.5, NETCONF clients can interact with OcNOS data center switches using standardized, vendor-neutral OpenConfig YANG data models, in addition to IP Infusion’s native data models. OcNOS data center switches also support telemetry streaming using OpenConfig data models to provide a standardized, vendor-neutral framework for network data collection and simplifies real-time monitoring.
By leveraging OpenConfig data models, OcNOS data center switches facilitate interoperable network management, monitoring and automation practices, consistent data collection and analysis, and simplified management across diverse network environments.
Addition Of Dial-out Connection Mode and “Once” Subscription Mode for gNMI-based Streaming Telemetry
OcNOS 6.5 adds dial-out connection mode in addition to dial-in connection mode already supported in the previous release. In dial-out mode, an OcNOS data center switch will initiate a connection to a data collector. Dial-out mode is beneficial for scenarios where the OcNOS data center switches are behind a firewall or NAT and it is easier for the OcNOS data center switches to initiate the connection. Dial-out mode is also helpful for scalability as the collector doesn’t need to maintain persistent connections and session state to a large number of data center switches.
OcNOS 6.5 also adds “Once” subscription mode for dial-in (initiated by the data collector) connection mode of streaming telemetry from an OcNOS data center switch. By requesting “once” mode, data collector can get the current state of a particular set of data at a specific time. This mode is useful when the client needs the current configuration or operational state for validation or auditing.
These streaming telemetry enhancements on OcNOS data center switches would further benefit network operation automation.
IPv6 Multicast – PIMv6 and MLDv2
OcNOS 6.5 supports IPv6 multicast protocols PIM-SM (Sparse Mode) and PIM-SSM (Source-Specific Multicast) in IPv6 enabled networks to enable leaf and spine switches to distribute intra- and inter-VLAN multicast traffic efficiently across the data center fabric. Membership to multicast groups is managed using MLDv2 (Multicast Listener Discovery) protocol to ensure that multicast traffic is efficiently routed to the appropriate leaf switches and only to ports where multicast receivers are connected. MLDv2 introduces improvements like source-specific multicast (SSM) support, making group management more efficient and flexible.
With IPv6 multicast support, OcNOS data center switches can support distribution of live video and audio streams as well as distribution of software to multiple servers in IPv6 enabled network efficiently.
Highlights of New ODM Hardware Platforms
OcNOS 6.5 supports the following new ODM platforms. With each additional hardware platform, IP Infusion further increases the advantages of its disaggregated solution for data center customers by offering options of different whitebox platforms to manage cost, lead time, and supply-chain challenges.
UfiSpace S9110-32X
The UfiSpace S91101-32X, a Whitebox data center switch with open networking support, can be used in a leaf or spine switch role in an EVPN-VxLAN data center network with IP CLOS underlay.
The S9110-32X is equipped with
- high density 32 x 100G service interfaces
- 3.2Tbps switching capacity
- Intel® Denverton 4-Cores
- Broadcom Trident3-X7 Silicon
- Individual BMC for monitoring and managing equipment health status
- Hot swappable power supplies with 1+1 redundancy support
- Hot swappable fan modules with 2+1 redundancy support
S9110-32X front panel view:
Edgecore AS4625-54T
The Edgecore AS4625-54T is a next-generation data center management switch supporting 1GbE connections to server node and storage node management ports in rack and 10GbE uplinks to management network aggregation switches.
With the OcNOS Data Center and Edgecore AS4625-54T management switch bundle, data center operators can cut costs, promote scalability, and customize leading networking technology to fit their unique needs. For example, the IP Infusion management switch supports network resiliency features when functioning as a gateway connecting to an external management network for continuous remote management access to data center devices.
This hardware is equipped with:
- 48 x 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 ports
- 6 x 1G/10G SFP+ uplink ports
- Broadcom Trident3-X2 Silicon
- Intel® Atom® COMe module with C3508 4-Core 1.6GHz x86 processor
- Full line-rate L2/L3 forwarding and switching
- Hot-swappable, load-sharing, redundant AC PSUs
- Fixed 2+1 redundant fans
AS4625-54T front panel view:
The following shows the overall OcNOS Data Center platform support.
Detailed information on the OcNOS 6.5 features and platforms is available in our Feature Matrix available here.
Key Benefits of OcNOS Data Center
- High-performance and scalable data center NOS with Terabits switching bandwidth support
- Deployment proven disaggregated networking solutions
- Open standards-based product, interoperable with existing deployments
- Small footprint resulting from an optimized design
- Simple, all-inclusive licensing scheme vailable in two packages per platform for out-of-band device management network, data center CLOS and overlay networking, and advanced streaming telemetry support
Connect with us to discuss your network needs and see how our carrier-grade disaggregated network operating system delivers on features, scale, and performance at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional OEM solutions.
Additional References
Introducing IP Maestro: Centralized and Simplified Network Management for OcNOS
IP Maestro brings a point-and-click graphical user interface for OcNOS managed networks, providing an intuitive and easy to use interface for complex network management tasks. Informational videos can be found by clicking here.
IP Infusion OcNOS Training Videos, developed and published by online IT training company Orhanergun.net
In an industry first, Orhan Ergun and his staff takes a deep dive into IP Infusion OcNOS. Spanning over 80 lessons, this training course can be found on Youtube, as well as Orhanergun.net. The heart of our training approach lies in a dual focus on a certification of completion and in-depth technology knowledge, equipping learners with not just the “how” but the fundamental “why” behind each concept. Watch the videos by clicking here.
Contact us today to learn more about IP Infusion OcNOS-based networking software.
Alan Huang is the Senior Product Manager, Data Center for IP Infusion.