Introduction to Open-source SONiC: A Cost-Efficient and Flexible Choice for Data Center Switching

Propelled by the proliferation of high-speed computing, data centers have witnessed exponential growth, characterized by continuous scale expansion and the increasing intricacy of network architectures. Conventional network operating systems, constrained by their proprietary architectures and hardware dependencies, have resulted in elevated deployment and management expenditures, as well as limitations in flexibility and scalability. SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud), an operating system engineered specifically for cloud data center networks, transcends these constraints. Through its capacity to accommodate diverse hardware platforms and its support for granular customization and automated administration, SONiC addresses the demands for large-scale, high-elasticity, and automated networking in cloud data centers, thereby providing substantial impetus to network advancement.

 

1. SONiC Introduction

SONiC is developed on an open-source platform that brings together network hardware vendors, cloud providers, developers, and other contributors to collaboratively build its ecosystem. Through this community-driven model, SONiC continuously evolves—with ongoing feature enhancements, security improvements, and performance tuning. This open innovation approach has not only fueled SONiC's rapid advancement and enriched it with robust features and cutting-edge technologies, but also established a compelling blueprint for the success of open source network operating systems.

 

Capable of running across devices from various vendors—including switches from Dell, Broadcom, and others—SONiC enables users to make independent, scenario-based decisions. This not only helps optimize performance and reduce costs, but also accelerates innovation and contributes to the healthy, scalable growth of the data center networking ecosystem.

 

 

 

 

SONiC's provision of a RestfulAPI mitigates technical barriers, facilitating deep integration with automation tools such as Ansible and OpenStack, and promoting a transition from manual to automated network management. This shift not only enhances operational efficiency and reduces operational costs but also aligns with the prevailing trend of automated operation and maintenance within data centers, fulfilling the requirements for automated operation and maintenance in these environments.

 

 

 

 

2. SONiC Architecture Design

SONic was launched by Microsoft in 2016. It is built on Linux and the Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) and can run across a wide range of switches and ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), offering flexibility and hardware independence. By integrating kernel patches, device drivers, and essential utilities, SONiC enhances the reliability, availability, and scalability of modern cloud networks—making it a powerful foundation for next-generation data center infrastructure.

 

The SONiC system, which primarily operates in user space, interacts with the Linux kernel through only a minimal set of core modules—namely, pmon, swss, and syncd. This deliberate design minimizes kernel dependencies and contributes significantly to the system’s overall stability and robustness.

 

Redis serves as the central communication hub in SONiC, enabling loosely coupled interactions among all software modules. It facilitates core functions such as data consistency, information replication, and inter-process communication, thereby supporting the modular and scalable design of the SONiC system.

 

SONiC adopts the latest container architecture in which all software modules—except for SONiCCLI and SONiCConfiguration—are deployed as isolated Docker containers. This modular design enhances system maintainability and flexibility, enabling users to add features or modify specific containers with minimal impact on the overall system, requiring changes only within the relevant local component.

 

 

 

 

3. Advantages of SONiC

Cost Efficiency: SONiC decouples the network operating system from underlying hardware, enabling it to run across multi‑vendor platforms with broad hardware compatibility

 

Flexibility & Customization: Allows you to tailor your network infrastructure and deploy complex features to meet the specific requirements of diverse scenarios.

 

High‑Performance Forwarding: By optimizing its kernel and data path, SONiC delivers efficient packet forwarding that significantly reduces latency and boosts throughput in large‑scale data‑center environments.

 

Community Support: Backed by an active open‑source community, SONiC offers rich resources and collaborative support to help users troubleshoot issues and accelerate deployments.

 

Interoperability: Through hardware‑software abstraction, SONiC ensures seamless interoperability among diverse network devices and components, simplifying management and reducing overall network complexity.

 

 

 

 

4. Application of SONiC

SONiC, with its significant advantages, has garnered intense attention and has been widely applied in many large‑scale production environments. From data centers to enterprise networks, the scale of SONiC deployments continues to expand, driving innovations in network architectures while reshaping the industry ecosystem.

• Data Centers: Users can either deploy the community SONiC or create custom SONiC distributions tailored to their specific requirements.
• Telecommunications: Carriers leverage SONiC to modernize networks, significantly reducing staffing, training, and maintenance complexity while avoiding the drawbacks of proprietary solutions.
• Enterprise Campus Networks: SONiC helps enterprises enhance network performance, strengthen security posture, and streamline campus‑wide network management.
• Service Providers & Telco Networks: Telecom operators tap into open‑source flexibility without sacrificing performance or security, cutting the personnel, training, and upkeep burdens usually tied to multiple overlapping proprietary systems.

 

5. NADDOD SONiC-Based 51.2T/25.6T Switches

NADDOD provides SONiC-based 51.2 T and 25.6 T switches that decouples software from hardware, breaking the constraints of proprietary routing solutions. This open architecture enables free customization of hardware components—such as switch ASICs, CPU chips, network interface cards (NICs), storage, etc.—and software systems to achieve enhanced scalability, streamlined operations, and significantly reducaed total cost without vendor lock-in. We also provide ONIE-compliant bare-metal switches, enabling you to install the NOS of your choice.

 

In addition, NADDOD fully supports the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) standard, ensuring seamless compatibility between a wide variety of switch hardware and network operating systems.

 

 

 

 

51.2T Switch

• N9500-64OC

The N9500-64OC is an 800G high-performance switch platform for modern data center applications. It provides line-rate L2 and L3 switching across the 64 x 800 GbE OSFP800 ports, each supporting 2 x 400 GbE , 4 x 200 GbE, or 8 x 100 GbE via breakout cables.

 

 

 

 

• N9500-128QC

The N9500-128QC is a leaf/spine switch for AI/ML data centers. It provides 128 QSFP112 400GE high-density ports and L2/L3 line-speed switching capabilities, and is backward compatible with 100GE/200GE interfaces.

 

 

 

 

Both these 2 models are integrated with Broadcom Tomahawk 5 chip, supporting RoCEv2 lossless networking protocols and providing full L2 and L3 forwarding. They deliver ultra-high performance, low-latency, and high-reliability solutions, especially for data centers, AI/ML clusters, high-performance computing, and distributed storage applications.

 

 

 

 

For an in-depth look at the NADDOD N9500 Series 51.2 Tbps Ethernet AI switches’ core capabilities, please refer to: NADDOD Launches 51.2T Ethernet Data Center Switches Powered by Broadcom Tomahawk 5

 

25.6T Switch

The N9200-64DC is a high-density, high-performance 2U data center switch equipped with BCM56990 Tomahawk 4 chip and 64 QSFP56-DD ports, which can achieve line-speed forwarding of L2 and L3, meeting the demand for high-performance, energy-saving and compact switches in network infrastructure. In the Spine-Leaf network architecture, N9200-64DC can support up to 2048 400G network cards, using open RoCE networking technology, and supporting open, efficient and easy-to-manage end-to-end AIGC solutions.

 

 

 

 

In Summary

As AI workloads continue to expand in scale and complexity, flexible architectures like SONiC‑based switches are essential for driving future network innovation. With years of expertise in AI networking, NADDOD has become a trusted partner in high-speed interconnectivity. In addition to the open-source SONiC ethernet switches, we deliver full suite end-to-end RoCE solutions—including adapters, transceivers and AOC/DAC cables. All the interconnect products undergo rigorous real-world testing in our lab and are compatible with 140+ RoCE devices, such as NVIDIA, Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, Juniper, Dell, and more. Contact us today for detailed test reports and personalized deployment guidance.