Open Network Featured Article

Pica8 is widely-known in the field as a great, single-source alternative for networking options, and it's about to cement that position with a presence at an upcoming event. Three separate organizations—SURFnet, Northwestern University and the California Institute of Technology—will be showing off new devices and systems powered by Pica8-driven Inventec (News - Alert) 100G Ethernet systems.

The roster is downright impressive. Starting things off, SURFnet will be showing off a complete real-time worldwide service function chaining system, using both the Inventec D7032Q28 and Pica8's PicOS network operating system (NOS). Northwestern University, meanwhile, will be using the same components in a bid to demonstrate 100 Gigabit connectivity, and the California Institute of Technology will take those same tools to show off high-speed transfers of scientific data using software-defined networking (SDN) as a basis.

Pica8's vice president of marketing, Steve Garrison, commented “Through our growing list of ODM partners, we will expand our selection of 100-Gigabit switches for the SDN marketplace both in terms of manufacturers as well as Broadcom (News - Alert) and Cavium ASIC support. When coupled with our PicOS NOS, these switches can form the basis of many high-performance computing applications.”

That's several different systems that Pica8 will prove a part of on one front or another, and that combination means a lot of new value in the field. Pica8 can deliver that level of value thanks to that NOS—which is considered a leader in its field—along with a set of standard white-box switches, making it possible for many different applications to put it to work.

That sheer versatility allows it to easily be incorporated in not only different applications, but different market verticals. Just in this context, we've seen two universities and a corporation bring Pica8's systems forward for use and actively demonstrating value. If universities and corporate users alike can find value to derive from the Pica8 and Inventec systems, what are the odds that any other corporate user can find value here? It's a safe bet, in fact, and that should have a lot more businesses looking seriously at the Pica8 concept when it comes to open networking operations.

These are just three solutions we'll be seeing Pica8 involved in, and there will likely be many more to come. Thus, those looking to augment currently-established systems may want to add Pica8 to the short list of technologies to consider.