Fulcrum Monaco Reference Design Has Been Chosen as the 10G Ethernet Switch Fabric for the InteropNet OpenFlow Lab Demonstration at Interop 2011
Fulcrum Monaco Reference Design Featured in OpenFlow InteropNet Demo at Interop 2011
Demo Highlights Possibilities for Improved Network Traffic Flow
Fulcrum Microsystems today announced that its Monaco reference design has been chosen as the 10G Ethernet switch fabric for the InteropNet OpenFlow Lab demonstration. The event is part of Interop 2011, being held May 8-12 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV.
The InteropNet OpenFlow Lab will educate attendees on the principles, functions and features of the OpenFlow standard, which is focused on improving the way traffic flows through a network. All traffic from the OpenFlow Lab will run across the Monaco switch. The lab marks the first public demonstration of Fulcrum’s OpenFlow adaptation layer, Fulcrum’s software implementation that translates OpenFlow function calls to standard API calls to Fulcrum’s FocalPoint Ethernet switch chips.
Monaco is a cost-effective 24-port SFP+ reference design based on the FocalPoint FM4224. The platform also contains Fulcrum’s FocalPoint Software, which contains embedded Linux OS, FocalPoint API, TestPoint test and configuration tools, and an optional instance of ControlPoint UNS switching and routing software. Fulcrum’s VantagePoint advanced congestion notification and management IP is also included, and is loaded in an FPGA and accessible via the control plane for enhancement, modification, or testing. The Monaco reference design contains a Freescale 8543 control processor, which can be used to program the platform for a variety of configurations, and provide health and activity information as requested.
“We believe OpenFlow/SDN are important new networking technologies, and we are glad to see Fulcrum and others supporting OpenFlow in their switches,” said Guru Parulkar, executive director of the Stanford University Clean Slate Internet Design Program.
“OpenFlow is emerging as an important tool to advance network virtualization and scale which can have a significant impact on next-generation networks,” said Mike Zeile, Fulcrum Microsystems president and COO. “Fulcrum has long been a supporter of OpenFlow and we’re honored to be a part of this demo at the InteropNet OpenFlow Lab. We look forward to helping educate the industry on how OpenFlow can provide better networking services for all.”
About OpenFlow
OpenFlow is an emerging technology aimed at providing new functionality, control, and choice to network administrators. Designed as an open interface for remotely controlling the forwarding tables in network switches, routers, and access points, OpenFlow breaks the traditional switch model from monolithic devices to controller-based systems similar to how controller-based wireless access points work. Initially created for researchers and universities as a tool to allow experimentation with new protocols without touching your production network, the features and functionality of OpenFlow have matured such that anyone running an enterprise network will want to become familiar with this technology.
About Fulcrum Microsystems
Fulcrum Microsystems Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company that has developed the FocalPoint family of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switch/router chips for next-generation data center fabric designs. FocalPoint devices offer the industry’s lowest latency combined with the fine-grained flow control and high throughput required for converged data center fabrics. With its ControlPoint network OS, Fulcrum offers a complete solution along with a worldwide ecosystem of partners from which storage and clustering system designers can drive adoption of 10GE as the fabric of choice for a fully converged data center. More information can be found at www.fulcrummicro.com.
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