Aviz describes SONiC-based disaggregated network packet broker
Vendor blog post describes how network packet broker functions can run on commodity switching hardware using the SONiC open-source network operating system and programmable ASIC capabilities. The update matters to enterprise IT and security teams because it reframes packet brokering from proprietary appliances to software-defined components for packet filtering, forwarding, and replication.
Research Overview
The article describes network packet brokers as infrastructure that collects packets from multiple links, filters them, and delivers packet streams to tools for performance monitoring, security analysis, and other use cases. It says many NPB deployments rely on proprietary, appliance-based products that can be expensive and difficult to adapt at scale, including in data centers and edge networks.
The post links potential disaggregation to increased ASIC programmability, including larger TCAM resources and flexible match and action behavior. It also presents an architectural direction that separates software and hardware elements for packet broker workloads while maintaining enterprise performance and capacity needs.
Key Findings
The blog identifies the lack of a standardized network operating system as a central reason packet broker solutions remain proprietary and appliance-based. It states that SONiC now enables an approach in which packet brokers are treated as networking applications that can run alongside modern ASIC capabilities.
The post describes SONiC as an open-source NOS with support across multiple ASIC platforms and as having a microservices-based architecture intended to enable disaggregated networking services on commodity hardware. It asserts that the SONiC model can support implementing packet broker capabilities as applications rather than fixed appliances.
Technical Breakdown
The article outlines a disaggregated packet broker concept built with commodity switching hardware plus SONiC. It describes packet broker functions such as filtering, forwarding, and load balancing as achievable through programmable APIs.
Using SDN principles, the blog says packet broker policies and services like filtering and traffic replication can program ASIC behavior. It presents the packet broker as a set of software-defined networking policies applied to underlying switching and forwarding hardware.
Operational Impact
The post lists cost and deployment outcomes of a disaggregated packet broker approach based on open-source NOS. It says such an approach can reduce CapEx and OpEx by avoiding proprietary appliances, and it claims access to a broader range of link speeds from 10GbE to 400GbE at lower cost than typical NPB solutions.
The article also describes integration and lifecycle benefits. It says open-source components support integration with commercial analyzers for performance and security monitoring, and it argues that disaggregation enables repurposing hardware from network refresh cycles, including during periods when semiconductor shortages affect upgrade plans.
Product Update
The post highlights Aviz’s Open Packet Broker (OPB) as a “software-based containerized application” built on SONiC. It describes OPB as enabling monitoring and security tools to access network traffic delivered through the packet broker.
The blog states OPB is deployable on switch or ASIC hardware that supports SONiC, and it frames scaling as responsive to changes in network observability and security tool demand. It also includes an instruction to schedule a demo for additional information.
The blog’s central theme is that packet broker functionality can be implemented as software-defined applications on commodity switching hardware using SONiC and programmable ASIC features, rather than relying on proprietary appliances. For enterprise decision-makers, the practical focus is on operational flexibility, integration with monitoring and security tools, and potential cost and hardware lifecycle benefits; this “Blog Signals brief” is a fact-based summary of the vendor blog.