Big Switch Brings 'As-a-Service' Networking On-PremisesBig Switch Brings 'As-a-Service' Networking On-Premises

Software-defined networking pioneer Big Switch is debuting an on-premises version of the virtual networking now available in public clouds. The technology gives network operators the ability to rapidly deploy on-premises networks on demand, on the fly, using the same tools they're now using in the public cloud, the vendor says.

Big Switch Networks launched its Cloud-First Networking portfolio last week, comprising several new products and upgrades to existing products for hybrid IT spanning public public cloud and on-premises networks. The tools work with any public cloud, including Amazon Web Services Inc. and Microsoft Azure .

Big Switch's Enterprise VPCs, or virtual private cloud services, allow operators to build logical networks that span on-prem and public clouds, running multiple networks on the same hardware for multi-tenant services, and deploying and changing the networks on the fly, Big Switch co-founder Kyle Forster tells Light Reading.

"It brings as-a-service culture to on-prem networking," Forster says. "I can set up a VPC in about five seconds. It would take months to get into the incumbent box to set up a separate network segment." And conventional networking technology is risky to reconfigure, liable to produce network crashes. VPCs are foolproof. "I can do what I want on the network, risk-free," Forster says. VPCs provide a good foundation for automation. "I can write automation scripts that don't take down the network," Forster says.

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