Force10 Rolls Out Open Automation

"We supply the infrastructure for inside the datacenter, which we call 'layer zero,'" says Dietmar Holderle, vice president EMEA at Force10 Networks.

The new initiative builds upon the vendor's existing virtualization framework using "open" elements within the modular Force10 Operating System (FTOS) that will enable the network fabric to participate in policy-driven, real-time workload allocation to suit specific application and service demands, according to officials.

The vendor designed Open Automation to orchestrate repeatable manual network management tasks and propagate them throughout the network infrastructure. The open components powering the initiative rely on common scripting languages and standards-based protocols to exchange updates and status between FTOS and third-party hypervisors that manage the virtual environment.

The launch of Open Automation represents a standards-based approach to network automation taken to lay the foundation for cloud-based services, say Force10 officials.

"Our Open Automation initiative responds to the fundamental shift today, where datacenters are being called upon to provide resource agility and increased efficiency to drive down related fixed and managed costs," says Stephen Garrison, vice president of marketing at Force10. "Our initiative applies the old-world wisdom of Ockham's razor-in which the simplest solution is usually the best-to the virtualized datacenter of tomorrow by offering the simplest approach to streamlining network management in the datacenter since it relies on common scripting languages that enable customers to leverage existing skill sets and eliminate the need to learn a new set of software development skills."

Tanzeel Akhtar