Extreme Networks ExtremeSwitching SLX 9240-32C 32-port Switch

Overview:

As data centers and cloud service providers embrace new highperformance servers and distributed applications, they increasingly need dense 100/40 GbE switches for leaf and spine configurations. Traditionally, infrastructure has been slow to evolve, and it can be a barrier to innovation. With flexibility at all layers of the data center stack, IT teams can drive agility. The ExtremeSwitching SLX 9240 Switch is designed to help organizations stay ahead of this application- and data-driven network transformation without compromising performance.

Programmable Switching Platform

The SLX 9240 delivers the high-density 100 GbE connectivity required by high-end enterprise and cloud data centers. The underlying hardware is programmable, enabling a faster transition to emerging protocols and new technologies. Workload visibility combined with end-to-end network visibility helps infrastructure teams continue to improve SLAs as they increase network virtualization. In addition, the SLX 9240, coupled with Extreme Workflow Composer™ and Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Suites, simplifies end-to-end network management, including turnkey provisioning, validation, and troubleshooting of workflows. And with Extreme Management Center (XMC), users gain centralized management, automation, analytics, visibility and control from the wireless edge to the datacenter.

SLX 9240 Overview

The SLX 9240 is a fixed 100/40 GbE leaf and spine switch in a 1U form factor that supports 24 MB of dynamically shared packet buffer and an overall throughput of 3.2 Tbps/1.3 Bpps. It can be configured as a leaf switch or connect to 40 or 100 GbE uplinks from leaf switches, such as the ExtremeSwitching SLX 9140.

By leveraging this high-density switch, data center networks can dramatically improve power, space, and cooling efficiencies, even at scale. A programmable ASIC enables the adoption of new protocols and technologies through an OS, rather than a forklift upgrade. Payload timestamping improves the accuracy of performance SLA setting and measurement.

Features:

Modular, Virtualized Operating System

The SLX 9240 runs Extreme SLX-OS, a fully virtualized Linux-based operating system that delivers process level resiliency and fault isolation. The SLX-OS supports advanced switching features and is highly programmable with support for REST API with the YANG data model, Python, and NETCONF—enabling full lifecycle automation with Workflow Composer. It is based on Ubuntu Linux, which offers all the advantages of open source and access to commonly used Linux tools.

SLX-OS runs in a virtualized environment over a KVM hypervisor, with the operating system compartmentalized and abstracted from the underlying hardware. The core operating system functions for the SLX 9240 are hosted in the system VM. This approach provides clean failure domain isolation for the switch operating system while leveraging the x86 ecosystem—thereby removing single-vendor lock-in for system tools development and delivery. In addition, it supports a guest VM, which is an open KVM environment for running third-party and customized monitoring, troubleshooting, and analytics applications.

Embedded Network Visibility

The SLX Insight Architecture and SLX Visibility Services deliver a new approach to network monitoring and troubleshooting that makes it faster, easier, and more costeffective to obtain the comprehensive, real-time visibility needed for network operations and automation. This innovative approach provides comprehensive visibility from the network to the workload, and triggers network actions. These actions can address enduser application or service needs, and provide context-rich data for additional analysis, automation, and reporting. For details, read Visibility in the Modern Data Center with Extreme Switches and Routers.

SLX Insight Architecture

The SLX Insight Architecture leverages an innovative combination of SLX-OS software and SLX hardware features to provide pervasive visibility into the network without impacting normal network operation or performance. This flexible and open solution enables organizations to deploy their choice of third-party or customized monitoring and troubleshooting tools directly in the network—providing real-time visibility to meet specific business and operational needs across the network. This enables organizations to improve service and application assurance, as well as dramatically reduce operational impact and cost.

As shown in Figure 1, key components of the SLX Insight Architecture include:

• Guest VM – The SLX Insight Architecture provides an open KVM environment that runs thirdparty applications and customized monitoring, troubleshooting, and analytics tools. Enabled by SLX-OS, this preconfigured guest VM is on each SLX 9240 Switch. It hosts third-party network operations and analytics applications on every device, extending visibility to the entire network.
• Flexible Streaming – The SLX Insight Architecture provides API streaming, enabling captured data to be delivered to analytics applications off the platform for additional analysis, visualization and reporting, or logging and archiving.
• Dedicated Analytics Storage – The SLX 9240 provides 128 GB of on-device storage dedicated to visibility applications running in the guest VM, providing realtime data capture for easy and fast access.

Figure 1: The SLX Insight Architecture

SLX Visibility Services

As network complexity increases, isolated data points at the physical or virtual network layer provide little insight into the criticality of an issue. For example, bursty storage backup traffic slowing down an internal Web site is a lower priority than a slowdown for a revenue-generating application. Network administrators need workload context across the network to ensure the appropriate action is taken in each case.

SLX Visibility Services help simplify network operations with embedded visibility from the physical network to application workloads. By combining physical and virtual network traffic data with overlay and workload information across multiple network layers, this solution enables diverse, rule-based actions to maintain performance and mitigate risk. Other key functions include:

• Pervasive visibility at scale across the network for seamless support of highly distributed multitier application workloads
• Rich multilayer classification (such as IP and MAC addresses, port numbers, VNIs) and workload matching with network-wide scale
• Automated application of rule-based actions (such as count, drop, mirror, sFlow) to incoming network traffic
• Further actions outside the switch, including pushing context-rich data to the SLX Insight Architecture, Workflow Composer, and third-party analytics and monitoring applications

SLX Visibility Services are embedded into SLX switches, reducing the operational complexity of managing network visibility at scale (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Extreme SLX Visibility Services

SLX Packet Broker for Carrier-Grade Visibility

Network traffic growth in carrier networks is driving scalability and management challenges that service providers must urgently address. Wire-speed visibility into these networks is critical to enable effective control of this traffic as it scales. Part of a broad portfolio of network visibility solutions, the SLX 9240 can be deployed as a Network Packet Broker. From the aggregation layer of the network, SLX 9240 curates traffic and steers replicated flows to relevant analytics platforms to provide (for instance) DDoS mitigation, congestion management, differentiated treatment of voice and video, and billing. The SLX 9240 offers 100 GbE (32), 40 GbE (32), 25 GbE (128) and 10 GbE (128) interface capacities.

Ansible

Ansible Network modules deliver the benefits of simple, powerful, agentless automation to network administrators. Ansible SLX network modules can be used to configure, test and validate existing network state on the SLX family of devices including 9240.

Extreme Management Center for Unified Insight, Visibility and Control

High levels of virtualization, containerization and cloud environments, combined with the enormous traffic, limit visibility in the modern data center. To address that dynamic challenge, SLX switches and routers, can be managed by Extreme Management Center (XMC). XMC includes a suite of applications, empowering administrators to deliver a superior quality experience to users through a single consolidated view and a common set of tools to provision, manage and troubleshoot the network. It works across wired and wireless networks, from the edge to the data center and private cloud. It gives you the granular visibility and real-time analytics, to make data-based business decisions.

XMC provides a consolidated view of users, devices and applications for wired and wireless networks – from datacenter to edge. Zero touch provisioning lets one quickly bring new infrastructure online. A granular view of users, devices and applications with an easy to understand dashboard, enables efficient inventory and network topology management. XMC also provides ecosystem integration, includes off the box integrations with major enterprise data center virtual environments such as VMWare, OpenStack and Nutanix to provide VM visibility and enforce security settings. Get more information on Extreme Management Center.

Cross-Domain Automation for IT Operations

To unleash new levels of business innovation and competitive advantage, many organizations are embracing digital transformation. Their success depends on building an agile business, and, in the digital era, IT agility is achievable only with centralized, cross-domain automation.

Extreme SLX 9240 leverages Extreme Workflow Composer, powered by StackStorm. With its nearly 2,000 pre-built points of integration, this DevOps-inspired, event-driven automation platform enables cross-domain workflows and straightforward integration with disparate IT technologies, platforms, and policies to provide split-second, reliable execution of service provisioning and remediation. Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Suites are specifically designed to speed up time-to-value by providing complete network lifecycle automation. For more details, read the Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Platform At A Glance.

Speed Up Time to Value with Turnkey Automation Suites

As organizations address the primary barrier to IT agility—the network—they need automation that is easy to deploy by operators with limited skills, that delivers value immediately, and that provides more than Day 0 provisioning. Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Suites (Figure 3) provide turnkey, customizable network automation for out-of-box functionality that delivers immediate value to the business, while the workflows provide automation for the entire lifecycle: provisioning, validation, troubleshooting, and remediation. As a result, IT organizations can adopt automation at their own pace, deploy services, resolve issues faster, and eliminate a barrier to IT agility. For details, read the Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Suites At A Glance.

DevOps-Inspired Automation

Streamline end-to-end IT operations and increase IT agility with event-driven, cross-domain automation.

SLX 9240 and Workflow Composer

The SLX 9240, combined with Workflow Composer and the Workflow Composer Automation Suites, delivers automation for provisioning, validation, troubleshooting, and remediation of network services:

• Unleash IT agility by eliminating cross-domain service provisioning, troubleshooting, and remediation delays
• Accelerate time-to-value and time-to-resolution with automation suites designed, built, and tested for Extreme networks; easily customized as skills and requirements change
• Leverage the power of DevOps methodologies and popular open source technologies that embrace industry best practices, as well as a thriving technical community for peer collaboration and innovation
• Increase agility beyond Day 0 by automating the entire network lifecycle—provisioning, validation, troubleshooting, and remediation of Extreme network infrastructure

Figure 3: The Extreme Workflow Composer Automation Suite Architecture