SANTA CLARA, CA — (Marketwired) — 10/28/14 — Big Switch Networks, the company bringing hyperscale networking to data centers worldwide, announced at the Open Networking User Group meeting that it is now offering two “starter kits” for its . The starter kits provide the switch hardware and SDN software necessary for projects ranging from small lab PoCs up to two-rack production deployments ready for IaaS Clouds, Big Data, Server/Network Virtualization, and VDI use cases.
“While our thought-leading customers are building larger Big Cloud Fabric pods with up to 16 racks and 16K VMs, we are seeing tremendous interest from mainstream data center administrators who want to experience operational simplicity but initially on smaller projects,” said Douglas Murray, CEO, Big Switch Networks. “These starter kits are intended to make mainstream adoption fast and easy.”
Big Cloud Fabric offers an application-centric approach to configuration, a single point for provisioning and fabric operations, modern features for troubleshooting, and security workflows and multi-hisor support. Since its launch in July, the product is now in production with customers and has received a . By leveraging Trident II-based bare metal / open networking switch hardware, Big Cloud Fabric reduces vendor lock-in risk and hits far more competitive price points compared to incumbent vendors– proprietary fabrics built with legacy technologies.
The first starter kit, priced at $40K (US list price), is intended for lab use and comes with two bare metal / open networking leaf switches, one spine switch and one year software licenses for a pair of Big Cloud Fabric controller virtual appliances. The second starter kit, priced at $99K (US list price), is intended for production use and comes with four bare metal / open networking leaf switches, two spine switches, and a pair of Big Cloud Fabric controller physical appliances with three year software licenses. Both starter kits also include Switch Light OS on bare metal / open networking switches, Hardware and Software support, and detailed deployment guides for project such as OpenStack clouds.
Details are available here:
“I had a demo of the near-final product [before shipping] and I–m seriously impressed with the solution. I worked through my SDN checklist of questions, there were very few things that didn–t have answers.” – Greg Ferro, EtherealMind / Packet Pushers
“Having endured so much SDN hype, I–m practically giddy when I get to see SDN fleshed out with actual real-life-you-can-touch-it–s-not-just-vaporware products.” -Amy Arnold, amyengineer.com and Networking Field Day
“If you don–t like playing with the big vendors, this is a huge deal, because Big Switch is bringing to bare metal the same kind of integrated management as is being offered by the other fabrics out there… This could be very disruptive for the big player–s fabric offerings.” – John Hebert, Networking Field Day
“From the technology presentation standpoint, the Big Switch offering is quite impressive.” – Nick Buraglio, ForwardingPlane
“Networking has seen more architectural innovation in the last few years than in the past two decades as companies look to create more agile, flexible networks with SDN,” said Brian Marshall, former analyst, ISI Group. “However, making the leap to new hyperscale SDN solutions can be challenging for organizations with legacy infrastructure. Big Tap offers a simple, high-value entry point for customers to warm up to SDN and get comfortable. Now Big Cloud Fabric at the core can help mitigate risk for customers and enable a seamless transition to SDN.”
“Clearly, complexity and high cost of proprietary box-by-box networking have slowed the pace of innovation in the data center. We believe the introduction of bare metal SDN based Big Cloud Fabric is a game changer with its unprecedented operational simplicity and cost points,” said Prashant Gandhi, Big Switch–s VP of Product Management and Strategy. “The $40K and $99K BCF starter kits enable mainstream users to accelerate deployment of modern data center networks and kick-start the process of capping their investments in legacy networking boxes.”
@bigswitch launches a $99k Big Cloud Fabric starter kit
Big Switch Networks is the market leader in bringing hyperscale data center networking technologies to a broader audience. The company is taking three key hyperscale technologies — OEM/ODM bare metal and open Ethernet switch hardware, sophisticated SDN control software, and core-and-pod data center designs — and leveraging them in fit-for-purpose products designed for use in enterprises, cloud providers, and service providers. The company–s Big Tap Monitoring Fabric is an entry level solution to monitor existing networks, and the flagship Big Cloud Fabric is the industry–s most advanced bare metal switching fabric intended for new data center pods such as private cloud, big data, and VDI. For additional information, email , follow @bigswitch, or visit .
Big Switch Networks, Big Cloud Fabric, Big Tap, Switch Light OS, and Switch Light vSwitch are trademarks or registered trademarks of Big Switch Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered marks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.
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