Colton, Maybe it is obvious to some, but I just want to point out that the reason Cumulus Linux publishes list of supported hardware is kind of two fold: 1st is Linux inherently doesn't program the hardware. So if you install Ubuntu on some Quanta switch, you still need a way to program the ASIC. Cumulus Linux is open source with the exception of switchd, which is what they use to take network state from the kernel and program the silicone with it. switchd can only program "supported" silicon. 2nd (and I think that applies to any OS, not just a NOS) is that supported hardware is the one they know how to (or taught linux to) control the LEDs, the power supplies, the fans, etc. Technically you can run Cumulus Linux on some unsupported switches, but I would not put that in production. So if you accept that linux is an OS and it needs drivers to drive the hardware, you can, hopefully, see that you can't just take any linux distro and run it on just any switch. You will need drivers that this linux OS can use to drive the hardware (including the ASIC) that you chose to run this linux on. Cumulus Networks does just that. They provide you with the drivers for the ASIC and environmentals. And since they do it, they list the hardware they support (aka provided the drivers for). Hope this helps. -Andrey. --Andrey On Thu, May 3, 2018 at 12:29 AM, Kasper Adel <karim.adel@gmail.com> wrote:
Feedback about Cumulus has been positive :
https://www.mail-archive.com/cisco-nsp@puck.nether.net/msg66192.html
if i am not mistaken, they have added lots of networking enhancements to the OS, they have videos on youtube that will paint the picture.
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 11:26 AM, Colton Conor <colton.conor@gmail.com> wrote:
Peter,
Thanks for the information. Do you have a recommendation of which distribution of Linux to use for this? Is there one that is more network centric than another?
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 1:11 PM, Peter Phaal <peter.phaal@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 9:32 AM, Colton Conor <colton.conor@gmail.com> wrote:
My understanding if Free Range Routing is a package of software that
runs
in linux, but not a full and true NOS right?
Why not consider Linux a NOS? Installing Free Range Routing adds control plane protocols: BGP, OSPF, ISIS, etc.
I looked into Cumulus Linux, but it seems to only run on the supported hardware which is while box switches. Can you run Cumulus Linux on a X86 server with intel NICs? Can you run Cumulus on a raspberry pi?
Cumulus Linux is basically Ubuntu with Free Range Routing pre-installed along with a daemon that offloads forwarding from the Linux kernel to an ASIC. CumulusVX is a free Cumulus Linux virtual machine that is useful for staging / testing configurations since it has the same behavior as the hardware switch.
On X86 servers with Intel NICs, just run Linux. Cumulus Host Pack can be installed to add Free Range Routing and other Cumulus tools on the server. Alternatively, you can choose any Linux control plane, automation, or monitoring tools and install them on the hosts and Cumulus Linux switches to unify management and control, e.g. Bird, collectd, telegraf, Puppet, Chef, Ansible, etc.
Linux distros (including Ubuntu) are available for non-X86 hardware like Raspberry Pi etc.
Ideally I think I am looking to a Linux operating system that can run
on
multiple CPU architectures, has device support for Broadcom and other Merchant silicon switching and wifi adapters.
If you consider Linux as the NOS then it already meets these requirements.