WHITE BOX SWITCHES INCREASE PERFORMANCE, REDUCE NETWORK LIFE CYCLE AND SLASH COSTS

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WHITE BOX SWITCHES INCREASE PERFORMANCE, REDUCE NETWORK LIFE CYCLE AND SLASH COSTS Introduction Imagine being asked to build a large-scale network that costs 20 percent less to operate than your

1 WHITE BOX SWITCHES INCREASE PERFORMANCE, REDUCE NETWORK LIFE CYCLE AND SLASH COSTS Introduction Imagine being asked to build a large-scale network that costs 20 percent less to operate than your existing network. Engineers at Facebook met this challenge and while doing so reinvented the networking industry. In 2009, Facebook began an initiative to improve the design of carrier-grade networks and data centers. A team of engineers spent the next years designing compute and networking infrastructure to better control costs and reduce energy consumption. Leveraging new methods and technologies, Facebook s Prineville, Oregon facility uses 38% less energy and is 24% less expensive to operate than the company s previous infrastructure. In 2011, Facebook shared these designs publicly and, along with Intel, Rackspace, Goldman Sachs and others, launched the Open Compute Project (OCP), an organization seeking to create open, shared and collaborative hardware designs modeled on the open source software movement. Building on their initial work with servers, the OCP started a Networking Project to modularize and disaggregate networking switches with the goal of fully opening up the hardware and software components that go into networking equipment. Open Switching was born. Open switching has recently gained acceptance with telecommunications companies (telco) and multiple-system operators (MSO). Gartner research estimates that the fast growing white box switch market will be about ten percent of the 18 million switch ports installed by 2018.

2 The Evolution to Open Architecture Switches Open architecture and closed, proprietary switches are fundamentally the same from a hardware and bill-of-materials perspective. They are both made from the same third party components. All switches are based on merchant Ethernet switching silicon from companies like Broadcom, Mellanox and Intel. Both open and proprietary switches also leverage a robust and mature ecosystem of transceivers, power supplies, connectors, chassis, cables and more. Other than life cycle cost, the biggest difference between open and proprietary switches is in software. Vendors of proprietary switches only support their own proprietary network operating system (NOS). For example, if you buy a Cisco switch, it runs IOS. A Juniper switch uses JUNOS. There is no option for proprietary switches to run a third party off-the-shelf network operating system. In practical terms, this has constrained the freedom of users as proprietary switches have been slow to innovate. Open switches, on the other hand, are designed to enable and encourage the installation of third party software. This is accomplished using an installer created at OCP called the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE). ONIE is an open source project that has created an open install environment for open switches. When an open switch ships with the ONIE installer, the end-user can load any ONIE compatible network operating system (NOS) on the switch. ONIE-compatible switch software is available from a variety of third party vendors including IP Infusion, Cumulus, Pica8 and Big Switch. Champion ONE Transceivers SFP+ Dual Fiber Champion ONE is well known within the communications industry as a leading provider of open network carrier-grade transceivers that offer cost-savings and cross platform functionality. The Passport transceiver series allow one transceiver to work with many different platforms. It offers simplicity, flexibility and interoperability in a range of physical protocols and modes. Champion One leads the industry with low power, compact, hot-pluggable 100G QSFP28 optical transceivers that offer

3 direct compatibility with existing switches and routers. Instead of ordering a multitude of platform-specific optics, Passport s open methodology allows network operators to maximize operational efficiency by selecting one transceiver that works reliably across multiple switch and router platforms. The Sureport programmed transceiver series offers superior convenience and ease of use of one-to-one platform compatibility. These carrier-grade transceivers are designed and tested to interoperate seamlessly with major OEM platforms. Champion ONE products are backed by an exceptional warranty and consistently superior support that exceeds customers expectations. Our transceivers are certified and quality approved by numerous Fortune 1000 companies, including many of the largest telecommunications carriers globally. Open switches that ship with the ONIE install environment, but no network operating system are called Bare Metal switches. When a switch ships with an ONIE-compliant NOS installed, it is called a White Box switch. A Brite Box switch is basically a branded white box. Buying a Brite Box switch from an industry leader like Champion ONE let s the consumer know that they are getting a well-designed, tested, integrated and supported product from a company that has a track record. In the remainder of this discussion, we will use the term White Box Switch for all of these variants of open switches. It s not only about putting the box into the network. It s about disaggregation of the switches. It s about automation and standardization. If we can build a set of tools around one network operating system, it will make our lives a whole lot easier. - Network Architect at Tier 1 North American Service Provider

4 The Level Playing Field The network equipment market has a mature ecosystem of off-the-shelf, third party switching silicon, transceivers, memory devices, control plane processors, backplane technology, printed circuit-board (PCB) technology, cooling technology, chassis, cables, connectors and more. It is widely known that white box switches have access to the same underlying components as proprietary switches. For example, the Champion One 10G switches are designed using the Broadcom Trident II+ Ethernet switch semiconductor device. This same chip is used in proprietary switches of the same class. White box vendors have access to the same components as the proprietary vendors. Additionally, proprietary network equipment vendors no longer manufacture in house. Switches and other networking equipment are produced off shore by original equipment manufacturers (OEM), contract manufacturers (CM) and original design manufacturers (ODM). White box vendors utilize the same manufacturing supply chain as do proprietary vendors. Sometimes, in fact, their respective products are run on the same manufacturing line and built with an almost identical bill of materials (BOM). Customers of proprietary equipment can fall into a trap of paying more for virtually the same components and systems manufactured in the same factory, on the same line. The disaggregation of networking switch hardware and software and the strategic importance of the ONIE installer serves as a major strength of white box switches. Customers of white box switches can choose a best-of-breed network operating system with the protocols and stacks that best meet their application requirements. The free software movement has shown that the investment resources of a single company are no match for the open-source community and a thriving ecosystem of third party software vendors. This principle holds true whether a vendor runs an in-house or open-source NOS, or chooses from among the many managed software platforms like Big Switch, Pica8, Cumulus or IP Infusion. Companies that sell proprietary hardware and software have market incentives to suboptimize their Proprietary Software Used to Create Artificial Price Points One common business practice in the world of proprietary networking equipment is to create a common hardware platform for different variants (low-, medium- and high-end) of a product. Features are present in hardware on both the low-end and high-end product variants. The manufacturer uses its closed, proprietary software to prevent the features from being used or accessed on the low-end version. This enables them to inflate margins on the high-end product. With the disaggregation of networking equipment stimulated by white box switches, third party software vendors are free to support any features that are present in hardware and there is often no extra charge. This results in a major cost optimization for service providers in that they are now able to only pay for the features they need.

5 product offerings to inflate margins. The software ecosystem for switches is solely focused on creating software value add. In fact, ecosystem offerings for white box switches now have advanced feature sets that are unavailable in proprietary network equipment software. The White Box Advantage Lower capital expenses (CapEx) The cost advantage of white box over proprietary switches is significant and increases even further as you move up to higher bandwidth switches. 40G and 100G white box switches sell at deep discounts to proprietary offerings. Savings are in the 40-60% range. Automated provisioning of services With configuration under programmatic control, the time required to provision a new service can be accelerated and performed more robustly. This new approach can take 20-40% out of the cost of service delivery (reduced OpEx) and, for a service provider, can advance the date that a new service generates revenue by 30 days or more. Automation of provisioning and maintenance offers significant support savings for carriers and data centers. Innovation White box switches leverage open architecture innovation, allowing them to more quickly incorporate new features and produce higher performance products. The open source movement has shown that community development innovates more rapidly than proprietary development. Standardization Many networks consist of a cacophonous mix of legacy equipment from different vendors. This makes supporting the network complex and costly. The disaggregation of switch hardware and software enabled by white box switches offers a way to standardize around a common software platform without being locked into a single hardware vendor. Network service providers can migrate to a standard hardware and software platform as they decommission legacy proprietary equipment, gradually lowering costs. Carriers can minimize their costs by purchasing standard software and hardware.

Reduce human error A majority of network issues are the result of human error. Services that are enabled don t work properly the first time and have to be fixed and turned on again.

Local sourcing A service provider or global organization can avoid paying import taxes levied by certain countries on network equipment by sourcing white box hardware from a domestic manufacturer.

6 Reduce human error A majority of network issues are the result of human error. Services that are enabled don t work properly the first time and have to be fixed and turned on again. Quality and reliability of IT services can be significantly improved when processes are automated using robust API-based tools. Local sourcing A service provider or global organization can avoid paying import taxes levied by certain countries on network equipment by sourcing white box hardware from a domestic manufacturer. White box switches from many vendors can all execute the same software platform so they interoperate seamlessly. SFP+ Dual Fiber Open network transceivers Proprietary switches use transceivers which are tuned to work only with equipment from a single vendor. White box switches from Champion ONE utilize open network transceivers, which avoid limiting a network to a single vendor. Cross-platform transceivers are significantly less expensive than proprietary, and offer the telco or MSO the freedom to purchase equipment from best-of-breed vendors, ultimately lowering CapEx and OpEx. Programmable Networks To install a switch in a network, it has to be physically placed in a rack, connected to power and connected to network cables. Traditionally, proprietary switches are configured by manually entering commands using a command-line interface (CLI). This last step is time consuming, prone to errors and requires a specialized skill set for each proprietary vendor s specific NOS. In a network with switches this might be a tolerable inconvenience, but imagine a network with tens of thousands of switches such as in a network managed by a MSO or telco. Large networks, based on legacy proprietary equipment, require large teams of information technology (IT) administrators. There s a better way! Open architecture white box switches offer a more efficient, flexible and robust way to manage an organization s switching assets. For small organizations, white box switching offers a way to grow and scale the network more flexibly without In the 100G space, optics are usually around 40-60% of the cost of the service. The reason we like white box is it s driving the cost of 100G service delivery down. - Network Architect at Tier 1 North American Service Provider

7 unnecessary overhead or can be used as low cost drop in replacements. The software available on white box switches places the configuration and management of the switches under program control using an application-programming interface (API). This allows the IT administrators to develop automated tools that configure, troubleshoot, alarm and manage the switches under their purview. Software designed for white box switches also supports software defined networking (SDN). SDN separates the control plane, which makes decisions about packet forwarding and routing, from the data plane, which performs the actual forwarding. In SDN, the software running on the switch is greatly simplified as compared to switches that are designed to make complex routing decisions. If a switch doesn t have established rules for forwarding a packet or traffic flow to its next hop, it queries the control plane or SDN controller, which provides the routing information. In SDN, individual switching and routing decisions are made globally, not at the network node level. This allows the network to utilize physical redundancy, improving reliability and resiliency, without having to support complex strict loop avoidance technology. An SDN controller configures equipment, grants access to traffic, enforces bandwidth priority, and generally optimizes and manages the flow of traffic. SDN is one of the major forces driving customers to choose white box over proprietary switches. Building on SDN, network functions virtualization (NFV) decouples network functions from dedicated, special-purpose hardware devices and allows network services like routers, firewalls, and load balancers to be hosted on virtual machines (VM) which are typically running on standard, cost-effective X86 servers. NFV is complementary to SDN when for example the SDN controller software is executing on a VM. Software Defined Networking In software defined networking (SDN), network administrators no longer have to manually configure each switch. For example, once the switch is physically installed, the SDN controller discovers the device and takes over management of it. The SDN controller instructs the switch whether to forward packets from particular flows to switches A, B, C, etc, The SDN controller could, for example, deny unauthorized traffic, enabling a switch to serve as a firewall at the network edge. If there is a database server on the network that needs a little more bandwidth, the SDN controller detects that and grants it by making adjustments in the routing tables of intermediate switches along the route from client to server. An SDN controller can also detect different traffic types and can assign bandwidth priorities accordingly. For example, a voice call requires a certain amount of bandwidth in order to maintain the connection and deliver clear sounding audio that doesn t clip or break up. The SDN controller can allocate resources to ensure that each application has what it requires. Locating access and routing intelligence in the SDN controller streamlines the switch design, enabling it to optimize key performance parameters like latency and throughput.

The Importance of Open Network Transceivers All white box switches are designed around a modular and open architecture, but not all switches are the same.

The Champion of Open Networking, Champion ONE, is a leading provider of transceivers for Ethernet and SONET applications and specializes in supporting newer technology that is compatible with

8 The Importance of Open Network Transceivers All white box switches are designed around a modular and open architecture, but not all switches are the same. Champion ONE has over 25 years of experience designing carrier-grade equipment for the industry s largest telecommunications equipment vendors. The Champion of Open Networking, Champion ONE, is a leading provider of transceivers for Ethernet and SONET applications and specializes in supporting newer technology that is compatible with deployed equipment. Twenty five percent of the gross margin contribution of proprietary switches is derived from transceivers. In higher-end switches, the transceiver is by far the most significant silicon component content in the design. Transceiver domain expertise is critical to streamlining switch cost, minimizing down time, ensuring interoperability and staying one step ahead of the dynamic communications market. In higher-end switches (10G, 40G, 100G), populating the ports accounts for more than 50% of the total cost of the infrastructure. Reducing the cost of the switch and having open ports for transceivers, for example in a 48-port switch, compounds the savings. Champion ONE carefully designs its switches to offer roughly double the performance of proprietary switches. Champion ONE switches compare favorably in terms of larger packet buffers, higher throughput, faster backplanes, larger MAC address tables and lower latency. SFP+ Single Fiber SFP+ Dual Fiber SFP+ CWDM White box switches lower network CapEx and OpEx CapEx OpEx Cost Proprietary Switch White Box Switch Initial Purchase 5-7 Year Life Cycle

Ports Switching Capacity Switch Silicon CPU Availability 1G Copper 10G Copper 10G Optical 40G Optical 24/48 x 100M/1G 4 x 1G/10G 2 x 20G 48 x 100M/1G/10G 4 x 10G/40G 48 x 1/10G 4 x 10/40G 32 x 40G

4GHz x86 processor Broadcom BCM56846/54 Trident+ 720Gbps Freescale P2020 dual-core 1.2 GHz / Intel Atom C2538 quad-core 2.

4GHz x86 processor 100G Optical Now Now Now Now Call Champion ONE Intelliport Series of White Box Switches Champion ONE also offers integration services and industry-leading customer support.

9 Ports Switching Capacity Switch Silicon CPU Availability 1G Copper 10G Copper 10G Optical 40G Optical 24/48 x 100M/1G 4 x 1G/10G 2 x 20G 48 x 100M/1G/10G 4 x 10G/40G 48 x 1/10G 4 x 10/40G 32 x 40G 104/128 Gbps 720Gbps 640/720/1440 Gbps 1.28 Tbps Broadcom BCM56340/2 Helix4 Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1GHz Broadcom Trident II+ 720Gbps Intel Atom C2538 quadcore 2.4GHz x86 processor Broadcom BCM56846/54 Trident+ 720Gbps Freescale P2020 dual-core 1.2 GHz / Intel Atom C2538 quad-core 2.4GHz x86 processor Broadcom BCM56850 Trident II+ 720Gbps Intel Atom C2538 quad-core 2.4GHz x86 processor 100G Optical Now Now Now Now Call Champion ONE Intelliport Series of White Box Switches Champion ONE also offers integration services and industry-leading customer support. We have decades of experience supporting carrier-grade deployments where reliability and availability is paramount. From 1G copper for campus applications to top-of-rack switching for high-performance, carrier-grade networks at 40G or beyond, the Champion ONE Intelliport series of white box switches meets the high performance, availability, and network-scaling requirements of MSOs or telcos. As an established vendor in the networking market, our entry into the white box switch space provides another way to extend significant CapEx (capital expenditure) and OpEx (operational expenditure) savings to our customers. 1G Copper 10G Copper 10G Optical 40G Optical Compatible with:

Conclusion White box switches are delivering on their promise of more innovative products and lower life cycle costs.

$CapEx savings are significant in lower bandwidth switches and increase such that higher bandwidth white box switches are a fraction of the cost of their proprietary counterparts.$ With higher port density for a given class of switch, white box switches reduce infrastructure costs, further compounding savings.

With higher port density for a given class of switch, white box switches reduce infrastructure costs, further compounding savings.

10 Conclusion White box switches are delivering on their promise of more innovative products and lower life cycle costs. The white box business model streamlines design and production to provide superior price / performance as compared to proprietary switches. CapEx savings are significant in lower bandwidth switches and increase such that higher bandwidth white box switches are a fraction of the cost of their proprietary counterparts. White box switches support innovative third party switch software, which achieves significant OpEx cost savings and quality improvement through automation. With higher port density for a given class of switch, white box switches reduce infrastructure costs, further compounding savings. As a leader in open network transceivers, Champion ONE is able to produce cost-effective, high-performance, carrier-grade switches that bring these savings to MSOs and telcos worldwide. About Champion ONE Champion ONE is a global supplier of standards-based, carrier-grade network solutions for clients in the service provider, enterprise, healthcare, education and government sectors. Champion ONE was founded over 25 years ago on a straightforward idea: produce high-quality innovative products with levels of availability that surpass any other company in the industry and provide customers with outstanding service and support. We do this by providing our customers with carrier-grade products backed by an exceptional warranty and consistently superior support that exceeds our customers expectations. Our ultimate goal is always to optimize your network by providing the highest performance at the lowest possible price both in terms of capital and operating expenditures. At Champion ONE we understand that our success equates to your success.

Open Networking. From Data Centre to Telecom TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD CONNECTS

Open Networking. From Data Centre to Telecom TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD CONNECTS Open Networking From Data Centre to Telecom TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD CONNECTS #1 Network ODM Accton & Edgecore Founded 1988, IPO Taiwan 1995 ~ 700 network engineers Manufacturing: Taiwan (TAA Compliant)