[dev] Open Network Equipment and FRRouting

[Andrew Lunn]

On Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 02:09:09PM +0700, Konstantin Shalygin wrote:
> >This is basically how the kernel does it. Each port of the switch is a
> >true Linux interface. You add routes to the interface, and the kernel
> >will offload it to the hardware. If you create a bridge and add
> >interfaces to the bridge, the kernel will offload it to the
> >hardware. If you use the team driver to create a LAG, and add
> >interfaces to it, the kernel will offload it to the hardware. All your
> >usual tools, routing daemon, snmp agents, just work.
> 
> Can you give an example of equipment that I can actually buy? All my
> professional life I use 1U x86 Linux servers for NAT|Routing + L2 Switch for
> LACP's|VLAN's, and always want something like this setup but in one box.

Hi Konstantin

If you want a fully open source in kernel solution, you are currently
looking at a Mellanox based device. They are only L3 switch vendor
contributing to the Linux kernel.

If you are happy to do NAT and Routing in software, and don't need too
many ports, you can look at some of the ARM machines using Marvell or
Broadcom L2 switches. Solidrun Clearfog variants for example.

At the moment, it is mostly industrial applications which are driving
most of the kernel L2 user cases. So switches/routers for trains,
planes, busses and industrial automation.

	Andrew