Open Network Featured Article

The traffic in today's networks is getting more congested because of the heavy demand it is experiencing from users around the world. This also applies to enterprises with inter/intra-net connectivity that have a global presence with multiple locations, because they also rely on public and private networks to carry out their daily operations. For Quanta Computer (News - Alert), the world’s largest manufacturer of notebook computers, the solution was deploying new IP networks powered by Brocade with Software-Defined Networking (SDN) capabilities to bring its factories at its Quanta Shanghai Manufacturing City (QSMC) plants together to simplify operations.

As the largest original design manufacturer (ODM) of notebook computers for some of the leading PC brands in the world, including Apple, Dell, Fujitsu (News - Alert), HP, and Sony, Quanta Computer has some very large global facilities. In addition to the facilities the company employs more than 70,000 people, who are increasingly more connected.

“We’ve deployed Brocade (News - Alert) networking solutions at Quanta Shanghai Manufacturing City because they provide a radically simplified administration model, which reduces costs and improves network availability, and sets us up for further improvements and increased production line flexibility by leveraging SDN,” said Dave Chen, Associate Vice President of Quanta Computer.

In choosing Brocade, Quanta will now have the resources to employ SDN with open networking to more effectively use the infrastructure at its network edge and its data center. To make this possible, Brocade is going to provide a host of products and services, which will include but not be limited to: Brocade ICX (News - Alert) 7450, ICX 6450, and ICX 6430 switches; Brocade HyperEdge Architecture; Brocade MLXe Core Routers; Brocade Flow Optimizer; and Brocade SDN Controller.

The recent deployment of the Brocade SDN Controller and Brocade Flow Optimizer will be the foundation for the development of Software-Defined Networking by leveraging the open networking ecosystem of OpenFlow. This will simplify the transition to SDN while supporting true hybrid port mode and disrupting existing network operations.

“Quanta Computer’s deployment of Brocade SDN-ready network infrastructure on the factory floor, within its manufacturing core network and data center, opens the way for the development of software-defined production lines that are capable of virtual retooling on the fly to dramatically increase flexibility,” said Henry Zhu, country manager for China, Brocade.

Brocade SDN Controller is an open-source SDN controller built from OpenDaylight, which is free of proprietary extensions and with complete portability for OpenDaylight applications and plugins. It is fully tested for extensible commercial distribution, so it can deliver the widest platform to control physical and virtual networking devices from all major vendors.

The OpenDaylight Project is founded by the Linux Foundation (News - Alert) to develop an open-source solution for Software-Defined Networking and establishing a reference framework for open networking. With OpenDaylight and Brocade SDN Controller, any networking equipment—physical or virtual—from any vendor can be operated because it is platform- independent as well as host OS- and hypervisor-agnostic. For Quanta Computer this means deploying SDN throughout its facilities will be much easier with the existing hardware it has in place.