Pica8 SDN Solution Powers University of Illinois’ Network Research Lab

Open switches help power the University’s network systems research

PALO ALTO, Calif.--()--Pica8, the leader in open networking for software defined networking (SDN), today announced that its P-3290 48 x 1GbE open switches are helping to power the Ocean Cluster for Experimental Architectures in Networks (OCEAN) laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Comprised of 176 server ports and 676 switch ports, the OCEAN network supports research in software defined networks, security, cloud computing and low-latency networks. OCEAN researchers utilize Pica8 switches to design new, networked systems from low-level physical wiring up to network protocols and applications, via an SDN-capable network test bed.

“Networks in the cloud and across the Internet have become increasingly complex to architect and manage,” says Brighten Godfrey, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Illinois and collaborator on the project. “SDN is a powerful way to cut through that complexity, allowing our lab to build solutions ranging from real-time verification of network security to novel data center network architectures that improve flexibility and efficiency.”

Pica8 open switches run PicOS™, an open network operating system (OS) that incorporates standard-based Layer 2/Layer 3 protocols into existing networks. These open switches also function in Open vSwitch (OVS) mode, providing industry-leading OpenFlow 1.2 support. OVS runs as a process within PicOS and provides the OpenFlow interface for external programmability as well as integration with CloudStack or OpenStack.

“Laboratory and research environments, such as the OCEAN cluster, run a multitude of experiments employing countless different scenarios,” says Dean Au, vice president of business development at Pica8. “With our hardware independence and network programmability, Pica8 can deliver the cost effectiveness and ease of customization that these environments require.”

Additional Information on OCEAN

http://ocean.cs.illinois.edu

About Pica8, Inc.

Since 2009, Pica8 has been fulfilling the promise of true software defined networking (SDN) by providing the world’s first open, hardware-independent switching system. Pica8 open switches transform the data center by decoupling hardware from software. This new approach provides greater flexibility and adaptability, all while driving down implementation- and management-related costs of cloud and virtualized applications. Pica8 is a global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.pica8.com.

Contacts

Pica8
Steve Garrison, 415-205-8566
steve@pica8.com

Release Summary

Pica8 SDN Solution Powers University of Illinois’ Network Research Lab. Open switches help power the University’s network systems research.

Contacts

Pica8
Steve Garrison, 415-205-8566
steve@pica8.com