Pioneering open networking
- Providing open networking solutions and bandwidth upgrades for the London Internet Exchange
- Supplying hardware for the provision of robust Wi-Fi coverage in Southeast Asia
Concept pioneering while maintaining traditional services
Edgecore Networks, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accton Technology Corp., is, along with its parent company, realizing the full potential of the new concept of open networking. Simultaneously, Edgecore remains committed to continuing the provision of wired and wireless products and solutions to clients worldwide.
London Internet Exchange open networking upgrades
“One of our main projects is the implementation of the ‘open networking’ concept for the London Internet Exchange (LINX) and upgrading their Internet upload speed from 10Gb to 100Gb,” Edgecore Marketing Director Lucille Lu said.
LINX in 2018 decided to follow up its success in continuing its network disaggregation and automation process from 2017 by migrating the LON2 network to open network hardware and Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) software.
Freedom of choice, flexibility in options
“Open networking is a rather new concept and many companies are beginning to say that they should not continue to make closed-off systems or be tied to a particular company or brand,” Lu said,
Edgecore and its parent company have been in the lead in the open network industry. In 2014, Accton submitted the first network design fully approved by the Open Compute Project (OCP), a design for a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) top-of-rack switch. In 2015, Accton produced the first open design of a 100Gb Ethernet switch through OCP.
“Companies know that open networking is the trend and they are testing the waters by separating, or disaggregating, hardware and software orders,” Lu said. “Open networking is like building your own computer rather than buying an all-in-one computer,” offering freedom of solutions and flexibility of utilization for equipment or a product, Lu said.
High praise from LINX for Edgecore
LINX Chief Technical Officer Richard Petrie said in the LINX 2018 Annual Report that “this was the first disaggregated networking solution at a large-scale Internet exchange and successfully runs using EVPN.”
LINX CEO John Stouter also stated in the report that thanks to “the splendid support of our two suppliers, this network was rebuilt ‘in flight,’ with virtually zero disturbance. This was a remarkable achievement.”
Edgecore to push its Success
Edgecore has seized the success of its LINX solution deployment and is currently in talks with other data centers and Internet Exchange Point services regarding the possible use of Edgecore hardware and solutions for a transition to open networking.
Social networks and e-commerce platforms pursue open networking
The social networking and online purchasing platforms are also making a move towards adopting the concept, Lu said. “These platforms do not require complicated routing for their software, as most of the heavy lifting is done on the data center end, absolving them of the need to purchase software packages from which they only require one or two items,” Lu said.
Success in Wi-Fi infrastructure — the Turkey project
While Edgecore is pioneering new concepts, it is also moving to safeguard its market as a Wi-Fi infrastructure services and solutions provider.
Edgecore obtained entry into the Movement to Increase Opportunities and Technology, or FATIH project, spearheaded by the Turkish Ministry of National Education through its systems integrator NETAS in early 2012.
The project’s main goal is to introduce technology into Turkey’s public education system, including electronic bulletin boards, tablets for schoolchildren and other forms.
For this project, Edgecore has contributed by laying the foundations for the Wi-Fi infrastructure. During the multi-phase project, of which Edgecore only participated in one, the company oversaw the installation of 92,000 of its Edgecore Networks ECW7220-L11ac indoor wireless access points in 4,000 schools, with one EWS4502 local controller installed in each school. The controller is also dual-layered, with one controller in schools and one located directly within the ministry.
As Edgecore only managed to secure one phase of the project, it was careful to ensure that its systems would be easily compatible and accessible with other systems, facilitating future use of its access points and network layouts by other subcontractors of the project.
Wi-Fi building in Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, Edgecore has partnered with local systems integrators to help promote robust Wi-Fi coverage in the area. In one case, Edgecore plays the role of supplier, allowing partners to play the role of a secondhand service provider.
Unlike Taiwan, where the low rates for 4G networks do not provide an incentive for the average user to switch from 4G to Wi-Fi, the region has very expensive mobile data rates, thus creating an incentive to use Wi-Fi networks.
By providing local suppliers with the Edgecore ECWO5212-L, an outdoor Wi-Fi access point with enterprise-grade security and capable of complete bandwidth control per SSID or per userbase, Edgecore facilitates community Wi-Fi service.
Looking toward 5G
The future focus for Edgecore will remain in the networking industry, be that wired or wireless services and solutions. For example, the company has been building cell site gateways in expectation of a burgeoning 5G market.
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