Owners Manual
Getting started
OpenSwitch OPX is implemented using a standard Linux distribution — Debian Stretch. OpenSwitch OPX is binary-compatible with Debian
Linux packages.
Linux kernel Unmodied Linux kernel included with Debian distribution provides a robust base to support current state-of-the-
art and future networking.
Linux IP stack Rich feature set provided by the Linux standard IP stack without vendor-specic changes.
Linux tools Standard Linux system administration tools are factory-installed in OpenSwitch OPX, or can be easily installed from
standard Debian repositories.
Convergence of networking, servers, and storage
The use of Linux as an operating system provides a solid foundation for the convergence of networking, server, and storage solutions.
OpenSwitch OPX allows you to easily deploy the management and orchestration solutions that are typically available for Linux servers and
storage systems.
Programmability
OpenSwitch OPX provides an object-centric API for application development—implement your own applications using a well-dened
object model and set of programmatic APIs. The object model is dened using the YANG modeling language, and OpenSwitch OPX APIs
support Python and C/C++. A set of standard Debian software development packages is provided to allow you to develop applications for
OpenSwitch OPX.
Open platform abstraction
OpenSwitch OPX implements a new, open object-centric application programming interface called the control plane service (CPS)
application programming interface (API). The CPS API allows customer-developed applications to be independent of any underlying
hardware or software technology. OpenSwitch OPX internally uses the switch abstraction interface (SAI) which Dell and partner companies
contributed to the Open Compute Project. The SAI API allows OpenSwitch OPX to be independent of any network processor/switch
hardware technology. See opencompute.org for more information about SAI.
System hardware integration with standard Linux APIs
OpenSwitch OPX integrates standard Linux networking APIs with the hardware functionality provided by networking devices—system and
network processors. You can download and use open source software (such as Quagga and Nagios) on any OpenSwitch OPX platform.
Disaggregated hardware and software
OpenSwitch OPX provides an environment in which hardware and software are fully modular. You can select the software modules you
want to install, and the hardware platforms you would like to use for your networking needs.
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4 Getting started