Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced on Monday it's using Cumulus Networks' Linux operating system and NetIQ management tool on some of its Ethernet switches. HPE's StoreFabric M-Series Ethernet switches are running Cumulus' Linux operating system to help enterprises adopt advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Those types of performance-intensive applications require high performance, all-flash storage infrastructure combined with a deeper level of automation than the current storage networking solutions can muster, according to the two companies.
By combining their hardware and software technologies, HPE and Cumulus are now able to offer enterprises an open, fully-automated storage networking fabric that can be used in modern data centers.
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Along with the increased adoption of software-defined networking (SDN), open networking lets customers pick and choose the hardware and software elements that best suit their data center needs.
Disaggregated networking enables the ability to deploy commodity switches with an independent networking operating systems offering Layer 2 and Layer 3 intelligence. In addition to HPE, here are numerous hardware suppliers including Accton, Celestica, Dell EMC, EdgeCore, Foxconn, Lanner, and Quanta. In addition to Cumulus, suppliers of network operating systems include Arrcus, Big Switch Networks, Kaloom, 128 Technology, IP Infusion, Pica8, Pluribus, Snaproute and a number of open source options such as Sonic, DANOS and FBOSS.
“Many modern data centers feature all flash storage architectures designed to meet the needs of high-performance applications, but what’s often limited these applications from reaching their true potential was networking,” said Cumulus Networks CEO Josh Leslie, in a statement. “The combination of Cumulus Linux and NetQ with HPE’s M-Series Ethernet Switches now provides organizations a more open, flexible networking fabric that is predictable, scalable, and reliable to help drive businesses forward.”