By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW CEO & Chairman
This week OpenSync announced it is expanding its SDN-capabilities to include support for the Linux network stack. This means OpenSync is extending its reach to include 100% of all new or recent smart home devices, the organisation says. OpenSync says it is still the industry’s only Cloud-controlled open-source software defined networking (SDN) solution. OpenSync-based technology continues to be instrumental in bringing intelligent smart home services – including high-quality Wi-Fi – to homes and businesses all over the world.
At this week’s OpenSync Summit in Taipei, Taiwan OpenSync unleashed a slew of announcements including this – perhaps the most important: The OpenSync framework now includes support for Linux SDN. The Linux networking bridge is one of the world’s most widely supported network software stacks, which means the move will extend the reach of the OpenSync open-source framework to 100% of new or recent smart home devices, says Sandeep Rai, VP Software at OpenSync.
“The Linux networking bridge is widely used and adopted by consumer premises equipment makers, service providers, and software developers. It is used to create, launch, and manage consumer services from the Cloud. We’re delighted to announce that with Linux SDN support, we now have a solution that covers 100% of the market for new or newer CPEs,” Sandeep Rai says.
Until now OpenSync has relied on Open vSwitch (OVS) to provide Cloud-programmable SDN functionality. The issue has been that converting from the Linux bridge to OVS can require additional development effort. All of this is now no longer needed, Sandeep Rai says.
“The new Linux SDN feature of OpenSync reduces the complexity and effort required during integration, leading to easier and broader adoption. The Linux SDN feature can now be used with the Linux network bridge. Meanwhile support for OVS will continue thus providing developers with an option to choose the one that suits individual OEM or service provider needs,” says Sandeep Rai.
Linux SDN support will be available soon as part of OpenSync 5 pre-release. OpenSync 5 general availability is slated for September this year, the organization says.
OpenSync has been instrumental in bringing sophisticated and intelligent smart home services to market since launch in 2018 including such signature features as remote home Wi-Fi optimisation, Wi-Fi sensing services, comprehensive smart home security, parental controls, and more. OpenSync says their framework now supports more than 350 service providers and 48 million locations, including smart homes, MDUs, and small businesses.
“For device makers, our new Linux SDN feature widens the pool of hardware and development options available to CSPs, speeding up time-to-market of new Cloud-capable CPE. For developers Linux SDN is a way to bring up OpenSync on platforms faster, speeding up time to-market for new cloud-driven applications and services,” says Sandeep Rai.
OpenSync says more than thirty telecommunications equipment manufacturers have embraced the framework resulting in more than 50 certified devices available now and ready for deployment. For more about OpenSync also see here.
/Claus.
