Arrcus ArcOS operating system to support 400-Gbps Tomahawk 3-based open network switch platforms

Startup software provider Arrcus, announced its ArcOS operating system now can be used to support 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and high-density 100GbE switching platforms optimized for 5G and hyperscale cloud environments. This will potentially allow service providers and enterprises to use advanced open, microservices-based networking software to build massive, scale-out cloud networks.

Arrcus says it has achieved this milestone via support for Broadcom’s StrataXGS Tomahawk 3 silicon, which is being used on open platforms from multiple ODM vendors that feature 32 ports of 400 Gbps and 100 Gbps, using one and four rack units respectively. Such versions of ArcOS will be generally available in the second quarter of 2019.

“Our customers are looking for faster, smarter, and better networking solutions,” says Devesh Garg, co-founder and CEO at Arrcus. “ArcOS delivers all of these, and our rapid support of Tomahawk 3-based platforms unlocks elastic, open-networking, standards-based solutions for building flatter, high-density data center fabrics.”

Arrcus asserts that ArCOS is the first independent network operating system to support Tomahawk 3-based platforms. Thanks to what the company describes as a feature-rich, resilient control plane, ArcOS has the potential to leverage on-chip improvements in Layer 3 routing and deep-packet buffering to deliver the performance needed to scale out bandwidth-hungry, distributed cloud applications, says the company.

“We are pleased to work with Arrcus to enable their differentiated ArcOS solution,” says Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager of switch products at Broadcom. “The combined platform addresses the need for flatter, cost-effective, highly-resilient networks with lower end-to-end latency while delivering massive bandwidth for distributed data-intensive applications.”

Cliff Grossner, senior research director and advisor on cloud and data center research practice at IHS Markit, was quoted in an Arrcus press release as saying that having a hardened, unbundled network operating system that supports 400 Gbps meets an important marketing requirement and opens the door to increased adoption of open networking, which will continue to drive innovation.

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