Amsterdam Internet Exchange deploys Pluribus SDN and Dell switches to enable automation and control

In order to enable fabric-wide orchestration, visibility and control, Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) has turned to Pluribus Networks and Dell EMC.

AMS-IX is using Pluribus' Netvisor ONE network operating system and Adaptive Cloud Fabric running on Dell EMC Open Networking Switches as key elements in its network modernization project.

“This is a great example that the advantages of open networking extend beyond simply cost. It’s about the automation and the programmability that open networking brings,” said Drew Schulke, vice president, Dell EMC Networking, in a statement. “This is another proof point of the growing presence of openness and SDN that we see as the future of networking.”

AMS-IX operates seven independent internet exchanges globally with the largest located in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, AMS-IX has 14 points-of-presence (PoPs) with more than 870 autonomous systems and more than 1,150 ports generating as much as 6.3 Tb/s of traffic during peak hours.

In order to improve performance, automation, flexibility and cost-efficiency, AMS-IX determined that moving to an open networking solution combined with SDN would best meet its requirements.

“The cost savings of open networking is certainly compelling, but for our team, it is the fabric-wide visibility together with the SDN automation that make the Pluribus Networks solution so valuable to us day in and day out. With this deployment we continue to stay at the cutting edge of networking, further improving network operations and management,” said Bart Myszkowski, AMS-IX network engineer, in a statement.

RELATED: Pluribus Networks makes a move to the edge with its network fabric

In January, Pluribus announced the latest version Netvisor ONE operating system paired with its Adaptive Cloud Fabric. Version 5.0 of Netvisor ONE OS was designed to provide improved scalability, automation and network-slicing functionality in order to support emerging edge compute use cases and distributed cloud architectures.

In tandem with the latest version of Netvisor ONE, Pluribus also previously announced a new partner ecosystem that includes previous hardware partners Dell EMC and Edgecore along with Red Hat, MobiledgeX and Vapor IO.

AMS-IX picked Pluribus' Linux-based Netvisor ONE operating system (NOS) for its ability to create a software-defined networking (SDN) fabric that federates a large number of geographically distributed switches to appear as one logical switch, all of which simplifies network operations.

Without the need for an SDN controller, Pluribus' architecture taps into the power inside of the switches that are already deployed, distributing intelligence to every switch in the network. In addition to lowering the cost by eliminating multiple controllers, it also improves performance, according to Pluribus.

With Pluribus, the AMS-IX team can see the entire fabric, troubleshoot the entire fabric or update policy across the fabric. This new level of automation allows AMS-IX to better serve customers while making their own operations even more efficient and cost-effective.

AMS-IX also benefits from Pluribus Insight Analytics, which leverages embedded Netvisor monitoring telemetry and packet flow data sources to enable visibility across the network, which eliminates the need for probes or complex monitoring overlay networks.

With end-to-end visibility into all connections that traverse the entire data center fabric, AMS-IX can analyze and compare actual versus desired performance and implement corrective actions, such as changes to policy or rerouting traffic to implement on-demand changes to the infrastructure.

RELATED: Pluribus bows new virtual multitenant gateway router

In June, Pluribus Networks took the wraps off its new white box, which is a multitenant data center gateway router that is optimized for public cloud interconnects. The Pluribus Freedom Series 9532C-XL-R Gateway Router is a virtualized data center gateway edge router that uses Pluribus' Netvisor One operating system to meet the needs of distributed enterprise and service provider networks.

Pluribus is competing against incumbent router and switch vendors Cisco and Juniper Networks as well as newer companies such as Big Switch Networks, Cumulus and Kaloom.