Special Feature
The rising tides of big data, video, and cloud computing are driving tremendous demand for faster and more efficient networks. We delve into how things like software-defined networks (SDN) and new wireless technologies are enabling business transformation.
Sometimes, rebranding is a good thing. Juniper Networks[3]' OpenContrail[4] was an excellent open-source software-defined network (SDN) program. But, it was perceived as being too much under Juniper's thumb to draw many outside developers. Realizing this, Juniper spun OpenContrail out into a community-controlled project[5] under the The Linux Foundation[6]. That left the name, so Juniper and the community decided to rebrand it: Tungsten Fabric[7].
Like its direct ancestor, Tungsten Fabric is a scalable, multi-cloud networking platform. It provides a single point of control, observability, and analytics for networking and security. The program is also integrated with many cloud technology stacks, including Kubernetes[8], Mesos[9], VMware[10], and OpenStack[11].
Tungsten Fabric also includes a high performance vRouter that connects container, virtual machine, and bare-metal applications. This includes a controller which orchestrates network overlays, switch fabrics, and router gateways.
If this sounds a lot like another Linux Foundation project, OpenDaylight[12], you're right, it does. Randy Bias, Juniper's VP Technology and Strategy, said in an interview at Open Networking Summit[13] in Los Angeles, "There is some overlap between OpenDaylight and Tungsten. That just means both teams must work harder and better.