https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/barefoot-networks/2016/06/
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/-2134161.htm
By eliminating the tyranny of fixed-function switch chips, Barefoot's Tofino empowers software developers to program their network in much the same way they program a computer.
Tofino provides the first programmable forwarding plane,
"The basic fixed-function switch architecture was set in 1996 and has remained unchanged for twenty years," noted Nick McKeown, co-founder and chief scientist at Barefoot Networks. "Yet everything else in the data center changed. We went from monolithic software to VMs and then to containers and fully distributed applications. With the rise of the cloud, data center traffic patterns changed as did the role of the data center. How could a 1996 switching architecture be the right foundation for 2016's applications? In all other parts of the data center we have moved to programmability. Tofino enables this move for networking. It empowers network owners and their infrastructure partners to design, optimize and innovate to their specific requirements."
For the first time, insights gleaned from years of traffic analysis can be converted into custom features. And these features can be delivered in a few hours, and can then be applied to different switches from different vendors. By contrast, legacy network providers typically aggregate features in staged, often annual, upgrades, forcing customers to pay steep upgrade fees for features they may not require.
"Software running on programmable hardware is displacing fixed-function hardware all across IT and the data center, as software eats the world. Sadly, network engineers and operators have been left behind. Barefoot Networks will change all that and bring the network into the future," said Ben Horowitz, partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "Just as Nicira proved that private and public cloud networks can be controlled by software, Barefoot will prove that the entire network, all the way down to how packets are processed, can be written in software. If you have a vision for how your network can be improved, with Barefoot and Tofino you now have the power to implement your vision."
Networking system vendors have for decades had their wings of innovation clipped by the limitations of fixed-function merchant silicon. They have been at the mercy of long and slow cycles of feature upgrades at these merchant silicon vendors, making them unable to innovate fast and offer products that fit needs of the distinct markets they serve. With Barefoot's Tofino and the P4 ecosystem, the networking system vendors now have the freedom and power to create solutions that make their customers truly happy.
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/-2134161.htm
By eliminating the tyranny of fixed-function switch chips, Barefoot's Tofino empowers software developers to program their network in much the same way they program a computer.
Tofino provides the first programmable forwarding plane,
"The basic fixed-function switch architecture was set in 1996 and has remained unchanged for twenty years," noted Nick McKeown, co-founder and chief scientist at Barefoot Networks. "Yet everything else in the data center changed. We went from monolithic software to VMs and then to containers and fully distributed applications. With the rise of the cloud, data center traffic patterns changed as did the role of the data center. How could a 1996 switching architecture be the right foundation for 2016's applications? In all other parts of the data center we have moved to programmability. Tofino enables this move for networking. It empowers network owners and their infrastructure partners to design, optimize and innovate to their specific requirements."
For the first time, insights gleaned from years of traffic analysis can be converted into custom features. And these features can be delivered in a few hours, and can then be applied to different switches from different vendors. By contrast, legacy network providers typically aggregate features in staged, often annual, upgrades, forcing customers to pay steep upgrade fees for features they may not require.
"Software running on programmable hardware is displacing fixed-function hardware all across IT and the data center, as software eats the world. Sadly, network engineers and operators have been left behind. Barefoot Networks will change all that and bring the network into the future," said Ben Horowitz, partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "Just as Nicira proved that private and public cloud networks can be controlled by software, Barefoot will prove that the entire network, all the way down to how packets are processed, can be written in software. If you have a vision for how your network can be improved, with Barefoot and Tofino you now have the power to implement your vision."
Networking system vendors have for decades had their wings of innovation clipped by the limitations of fixed-function merchant silicon. They have been at the mercy of long and slow cycles of feature upgrades at these merchant silicon vendors, making them unable to innovate fast and offer products that fit needs of the distinct markets they serve. With Barefoot's Tofino and the P4 ecosystem, the networking system vendors now have the freedom and power to create solutions that make their customers truly happy.
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