PLUMgrid and Cumulus Networks Enable Seamless Integration of Bare Metal Workloads for OpenStack Clouds

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PLUMgrid, a leading innovator of virtual network infrastructure for OpenStack^® clouds, and Cumulus Networks^®, provider of the Cumulus^® Linux^® operating system for open networking, have joined forces to deliver a software-only solution that enables enterprises and operators to deploy a unified overlay and underlay architecture for OpenStack clouds.

PLUMgrid ONS and Cumulus Linux deliver a best-in-class solution for OpenStack clouds, combining secure overlay with underlay infrastructure based on open Linux networking. Leveraging standards-based Virtual Tunnel End Point (VTEP), the solution enables integrated support for bare metal workloads as well as generic north-south gateway functionalities to be offloaded to hardware with ease of configuration via the OpenStack API and dashboard.

With support for major OpenStack distributions, PLUMgrid Open Networking Suite (ONS) is a production-proven overlay solution providing comprehensive, advanced SDN services implemented with fully resilient, distributed virtual network functions ranging from L2 to L3 functions, NAT, security policies, DHCP/DNS, IPSec and operational tools. Built on PLUMgrid Platform® and IO Visor® technology, the software suite lets users create private Virtual Domains to provide isolation, security and policy enforcement across tenants.

Cumulus Linux, the operating system for open networking, helps organizations of all sizes realize the promise of the software-defined data center by enabling high capacity networks that are easy to deploy and affordable. With over 1 million ports in production, Cumulus Linux unleashes the power of open networking with hardware accelerated Linux networking that supports Layer 2, Layer 3 and overlay network architectures.

Deployed as the operating system for a hardware gateway, Cumulus Linux enables physical workloads to be seamlessly connected into PLUMgrid's overlay topology, extending the reach of the solution for applications that require high performance databases, legacy systems, storage and appliances at wire rate. A copy of the solution brief can be downloaded here.

Choice of Physical Infrastructure  
Disaggregation of networking hardware and software combined with a robust ecosystem such as PLUMgrid provides automation, accelerated innovation and consistent tools across the data center. Users are no longer locked in to rigid legacy systems that require long innovation cycles and operationally complex processes. With choice, users gain greater agility, simplicity and control over their virtual and physical infrastructure.

Secure, Multi-tenant Virtual Networks 
PLUMgrid ONS provides cloud users with the ability to create private Virtual Domains that act as network containers for isolating user traffic, applying user-specific policies and customizing packet processing functions such as NAT, firewall and IPSec. These feature-rich, multi-tenant environments can be deployed without configuration changes in the underlying physical network infrastructure, which greatly reduces operational overhead. With security being a key concern for enterprises, PLUMgrid ONS has built-in security advantages that can be leveraged immediately.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership  
The joint solution provided by PLUMgrid and Cumulus Networks is built on software with no custom hardware that requires intense capital investment and operational expense. Users who are modernizing data centers or building out an OpenStack cloud gain business agility while reducing total cost of ownership.

Visit PLUMgrid and Cumulus Networks at OpenStack Vancouver  
Both PLUMgrid and Cumulus Networks are sponsors of the upcoming OpenStack Summit in Vancouver, May 18-22. Visit PLUMgrid at booth S14, and join PLUMgrid's breakout sessions, demos, and 1:1 whiteboard sessions. The full schedule and sign-up can be found here. 

Visit Cumulus at booth T2, and join Nolan Leake, CTO of Cumulus Networks, who is speaking on Neutron Hierarchical Port Binding.

Supporting Quotes 
"We are delighted to partner with Cumulus Networks on a joint solution for bare metal workloads in the OpenStack cloud environment. Both companies have production proven software that has been deployed in large networks. The partnership will result in tighter integration of our virtual and physical infrastructure solution to enhance secure and scalable OpenStack clouds for our customers."

— Wendy Cartee, vice president of product management & marketing, PLUMgrid

"Expanding our open networking ecosystem with PLUMgrid has enabled a comprehensive overlay and underlay solution that offers increased efficiency and simplicity to OpenStack cloud builders. Our software-only solution provides ultimate flexibility and offers choice of infrastructure to our customers. We are looking forward to working with PLUMgrid to help our customers deploy the best of breed solution with Cumulus Linux."     

—Reza Malekzadeh, vice president, business, Cumulus Networks

About PLUMgrid Open Networking Suite (ONS) for OpenStack 
PLUMgrid ONS for OpenStack is a comprehensive software suite that enables scalable and secure virtual network infrastructure for OpenStack^® clouds. Deployed by service providers and enterprises, PLUMgrid ONS provides terabits of scale-out performance, production-grade resiliency, and secure multi-tenancy for hybrid data centers. Built on PLUMgrid Platform^®and IO Visor^® technology, the software suite lets users create private Virtual Domains to provide isolation, security and policy enforcement across tenants. Designated as OpenStack Compatible by the OpenStack Foundation, PLUMgrid ONS supports industry's broadest distribution including Canonical, Mirantis, Oracle, Piston, Red Hat and SUSE.

About PLUMgrid 
PLUMgrid is an innovator of secure and scalable virtual network infrastructure for OpenStack clouds. Founded in 2011, PLUMgrid provides software networking solutions that enable hybrid data centers to connect tenants, applications and workloads efficiently across hypervisors, virtualized, bare metal and container-based architectures. PLUMgrid is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and is funded by venture capital and strategic investors. Visit www.plumgrid.com, read the PLUMgrid blog and follow the company on Twitter @PLUMgrid.

About Cumulus Networks^® 
Cumulus Networks unleashes the power of open networking and accelerates its adoption with Cumulus Linux, the operating system for open networking. Founded by veteran networking engineers from Cisco and VMware, Cumulus Networks makes the first Linux operating system for networking hardware and fills a critical gap in realizing the true promise of the software-defined data center. Just as Linux completely transformed the economics and innovation on the server side of the data center, Cumulus Linux is doing the same for the network. It is radically reducing the costs and complexities of operating modern data center networks for service providers and businesses of all sizes. Cumulus Networks has received venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Peter Wagner and four of the original VMware founders. For more information, visit cumulusnetworks.com or follow @cumulusnetworks.

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