Extreme Networks' ExtremeXOS modular operating system offers high availability, extensibility, and high performance for networks. The system's EAPS protocol helps minimize downtime, ensuring business continuity and access to critical applications like CRM, data warehouses, and VoIP. Built-in security features, including network access control, endpoint integrity checking, and identity management, protect the network control and management planes. ExtremeXOS allows for network expansion by integrating specialized application appliances, such as security devices, providing insights and control at the network, application, and user levels.
ExtremeXOS is a versatile network operating system designed for high-performance, resilient networks. Its robust feature set includes advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols, a flexible architecture for IPv6 support, and integrated security measures.
Key features of ExtremeXOS include:
Modular Operating System
Preemptive scheduling and memory protection allow each of many applications – such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) – to run as separate OS processes that are protected from each other. This provides increased system integrity and inherently helps protect against DoS attacks.
ExtremeXOS offers high network availability using process monitoring and restart.
High Availability Architecture
- Reduce network downtime using hitless failover and module-level software upgrade.
- Prevent system corruption using memory protection for processes.
- Avoid system reboots using self-healing process recovery.
- Extend high availability across switches with Multi-Switch Link Aggregation Groups.
Network Traffic Monitoring
ExtremeXOS sFlow and IPFIX standards-based data monitoring support provides Layer 2-7 visibility into the network, including statistics on which applications are running over your network, biggest talkers, etc.
sFlow is a sampling technology that meets the key requirements for a network traffic monitoring solution: sFlow provides a network-wide view of usage and active routes. It is a scalable technique for measuring network traffic, and collecting, storing and analyzing traffic data. This enables thousands of interfaces to be monitored from a single location.
sFlow is scalable, thereby enabling it to monitor links of speeds up to 10 Gigabits per Second (Gbps) and beyond without impacting the performance even of core Internet routers and switches, and without adding significant network load.
IPFIX (Internet Protocol Flow Information eXport), or RFC 3917, can be used as an alternative to sFlow. IPFIX offers templates for the data to be transferred, or network managers can define data types to adapt to their specific needs.
Extensibility:
- Integrate best-of-breed applications to your network with an open, yet secure XML-based Application Programming Interface (API).
- Integrate Extreme Networks and third-party developed software applications using open standards-based POSIX interfaces.
- Scripting-based device management for incremental configuration deployment and ease of management.
Integrated Security with NetLogin, MAC Security, IP Security:
- Guard access to the network through authentication, Network Login/802.1x, host integrity checking, and Identity Management.
- Harden the network infrastructure with Denial of Service(DoS) protection and IP Security against man-in-the-middle and DoS attacks.
- Secure management using authentication and encryption.
User, location, and time-based dynamic security policies with Identity Management
Insight, control and automation for virtualized data centers with XNV (ExtremeXOS Network Virtualization)
Enhanced resiliency, synchronization, performance for 2G/3G/4G mobile backhaul
ExtremeXOS InSite SDK
Software Defined Networking Ready with OpenFlow and OpenStack support
Ethernet Audio Video Bridging (AVB) enabled
(AVB) supports the deployment of professional quality audio and/or video (AV) over standard Ethernet while coexisting with other "legacy" (or non-AV) Ethernet traffic. This supports "Network Convergence," or using one simple standard Ethernet network for all communication needs.
To support AV applications, it is necessary for AVB systems to provide time synchronization and QoS.
Support Routing Protocols:
- OSPF
- BGP
- IS-IS
- RIPng
Support VXLAN:
VXLAN is a Layer 2 overlay scheme over a Layer 3 network. Overlays are called VXLAN segments and only VMs and physical machines (tenents) within the same segment have Layer 2 connectivity. VXLAN segments are uniquely identified using an identifier called the VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI). The VNI is a 24-bit identifier; therefore, an administrative domain can support up to 16 million overlay networks.
Integrated Application Hosting
The Integrated Application Hosting (IAH) feature provides the ability to host guest VMs on ExtremeXOS-based switches.
The IAH infrastructure includes:
- ExtremeXOS Virtualization Manager component—responsible for guest VM management and control, management of networking connectivity, management of compute resources, and complete isolation of activity from ExtremeXOS.
- KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine)—Linux kernel feature enabling hardware-accelerated virtualization.
- QEMU (Quick EMUlator)—an open-source emulator and hypervisor.
- VMs can be packaged as either OVAs (Open Virtual Appliance) or qcow2 or any QEMU-compatible (including VMDK) disk images.
Support Stacking:
A stack consists of a group of up to eight switches that are connected to form a ring. The stack offers the combined port capacity of the individual switches. But it operates as if it were a single switch, making network administration easier.
Stacking is facilitated by the SummitStack feature – part of the ExtremeXOS Edge license.
Conclusion
ExtremeXOS is a powerful and versatile network operating system that empowers organizations to build highly available, scalable, and secure networks. By offering a rich feature set including advanced routing protocols, robust security measures, and seamless integration with third-party applications, ExtremeXOS simplifies network management and enhances network performance. With its modular architecture, high availability features, and support for cutting-edge technologies like VXLAN and SDN, ExtremeXOS is well-positioned to meet the evolving demands of modern networks.