Open Network Featured Article

Open networks, particularly those based on the open network install environment (ONIE) principles, have been a big part of operations for eintelligo Networks for some time now, and, thanks to its own work in the sector, the move toward ONIE open networks is proceeding apace.

Since eintelligo Networks was the company responsible for not only being the network engineer but also the architect behind AXONVX for NEXTDC, it's since developed a reputation in the field for being connected to one of the best Elastic Fabrics infrastructures in its immediate area. Drawing on a combination of capabilities—including Arista, Cisco (News - Alert) and Juniper skills—eintelligo brought a lot to the open network table.

The company's co-founder—futurist Skeeve Stevens—made one important move by requiring the company's engineers to learn Linux in a bid to help drive change in the larger networking ecosystem. This has helped bring eintelligo to a much better overall position, and though Stevens doesn't believe that software-defined networking (SDN) is quite ready to play on the bigger stages just yet, open networking will likely be an intermediary step much more in use. That gives eintelligo access to a market that may really just be starting to open up.

Stevens commented, “You cannot ignore the costs savings and speed increases that open networking provides. Anyone not taking a serious look at open networking will be falling behind their competitors in so many ways.” Stevens further noted predictions that 90 percent of Cisco and Juniper's revenue would be software-related in the next three years, mostly due to changes in the field that open networking has kicked off. Right now, eintelligo is offering ON (News - Alert) technology to a range of its customers, including former New South Wales government power utility Transgrid.

With open networking, hardware and operating systems becoming somewhat separated, the hardware is able to accommodate different operating systems. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Dell (News - Alert) both have systems that engage in such practices, like the Altoline and the ON switch series, respectively. Both have an ONIE boot loader, and can thus handle the various operating systems that can work with open networking.

It might be going a bit far to say that SDN isn't “ready for prime time,” especially given how many applications for it we've already seen. That doesn't mean it can't stand some development; look at the release of Windows 8. The world's been running on Windows since the nineties and, even here, Microsoft (News - Alert) brought out a version that was nearly universally panned. Still, there's clearly a value in open networking, and it might well prove to be the catalyst that makes SDN really take off.

It's a safe bet that eintelligo is working in a field that's likely to take off in short order, and may well prompt gains in other fields as well. There's value in this entire market, and that likely means success ahead for eintelligo.