The network switch developed with the idea of network disaggregation is white box switch. White box switch enables ODM vendors to select the switching silicon and open source NOS of their own choice which makes it more scalable and price efficient. One can also change the running NOS on the network device with a new one by leveraging SAI interface and on board ONIE support. The single point supply chain is the conventional way now. Switch developers can customize the open networking software and hardware as per their requirement.
Edgecore’s AS7XXX family, Mellanox Spectrum, Inventec’s DCS6072QS, Dell EMC’s S3048-ON etc. are successfully commercialized white box switches.
White box switch is conceptualized since 2011 and in the current open networking era of 2018, it has imposed potential disruption to traditional vendors. It is the ongoing trend in current networking market and will continue to be so in future of SDN networking due to its obvious advantages. SAI is the key to unlock the white box switch development.