M1.L1 What Is SONiC – Script

1. Introduction

Welcome to this lesson on the background of SONiC.

Before we dive into the architecture and components in detail, let’s look at what SONiC is and where it comes from.

2. What is SONiC?

So what is SONiC? The name stands for Software for Open Networking in the Cloud. SONiC is a network operating system based on Linux. It is an open source project, so anyone can use it for free.

One of SONiC’s key features is its hardware independence. That’s why it is supported by many platform and ASIC vendors.

Because of its origins, SONiC focuses mainly on data center use cases. But more and more campus features are appearing in some editions.

SONiC is built on a containerized architecture, which makes it robust and easy to extend.

Besides the free community version, there are a growing number of enterprise-grade editions, each with its own advantages.

To learn more about the SONiC project, visit the SONiC landing page at sonicfoundation.dev.

3. History

Before we look at the benefits of SONiC, let’s take a quick look at its history.

Microsoft developed SONiC in 2016 to run its massive Azure cloud infrastructure. Soon after, it was released as open source through the Open Compute Project.

In 2022, stewardship moved to the Linux Foundation, making SONiC a fully community-led project.

Today, the SONiC community has more than 850 contributors. They come from cloud providers, OEMs, integrators, chip vendors and other companies. The community has also built a wealth of tools and documentation that extend the SONiC ecosystem.

4. Benefits of SONiC

So what are the benefits of SONiC, especially compared with legacy network operating systems?

Open, with no vendor lock-in. SONiC is supported by many ASIC vendors, such as Broadcom, Marvell and Intel, and by many platform vendors, such as Edgecore, Dell, Celestica and UfiSpace. This gives you a wide choice of hardware. You can even change your equipment and keep the software ecosystem you already know.

Modular. Unlike many monolithic legacy network operating systems, SONiC has a modular architecture. It is built on containers, which keeps it running reliably and makes it easy to add new functions by adding new containers.

Scalable and flexible. SONiC runs in many types of networks, from campus networks to hyperscale data centers. It also offers many automation options, so manual configuration can be kept to a minimum.

5. Enterprise SONiC editions

SONiC started as a community-driven open source project, and the community version is powerful and flexible.

But when it comes to running SONiC in production networks, especially at scale, many organizations want a more robust and secure option, including support with contractually guaranteed SLAs. That’s where enterprise-grade SONiC editions come in.

In general, enterprise distributions bring production-grade maturity to SONiC. This includes:

  • proactive security patching and management of CVEs, that is, Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
  • SLA-backed support
  • an optimized implementation of ASIC support
  • verified hardware compatibility
  • full documentation and lifecycle tools
  • customer access, such as a support portal

This training is based on the Enterprise SONiC edition by Broadcom.

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