Disaggregated Network

Disaggregated Network Fabrics: The Future of Scalable, Cost-Efficient Networking

Introduction

The networking industry is undergoing a radical transformation. Traditional monolithic switches and routers—expensive, proprietary, and hard to scale—are being replaced by disaggregated network fabrics, a modular architecture that separates hardware from software.

This shift is driven by the need for cost efficiency, flexibility, and scalability in cloud computing, AI infrastructure, 5G networks, and beyond. Leading enterprises, hyperscalers, and telecom operators are already adopting this model to break free from vendor lock-in, reduce costs, and future-proof their networks.

In this article, we’ll explore:

  • What disaggregated network fabrics are and how they work.
  • Why industries are adopting them—key benefits and real-world examples.
  • Which sectors benefit most (cloud, telco, AI, finance, ISPs).
  • The future of disaggregated networking and emerging trends.

What Are Disaggregated Network Fabrics?

A disaggregated network fabric decouples hardware and software, replacing traditional chassis-based switches with modular, white-box switches running open or third-party network operating systems (NOS).

Key Components:

  • White-box switches (commodity hardware from ODMs like Edgecore, Delta, UfiSpace).
  • Open NOS options (SONiC, FRRouting, DANOS) or commercial NOS ( Arrcus ArcOS ).
  • SDN controllers (ONOS, OpenDaylight) for centralized automation.
  • Kubernetes + BGP + Any CNI + Any Network Fabric Cosmolet

How It Works:

Instead of a single large chassis switch, a distributed fabric is built using:

  • Leaf-spine or Clos topologies for non-blocking any-to-any connectivity.
  • Disaggregated Chassis (DDC)—where multiple white-box switches emulate a traditional chassis.

This approach enables granular scaling, better resiliency, and lower costs compared to legacy systems.

Why Are Industries Adopting Disaggregated Fabrics?

1. Cost Savings via Commodity Hardware

  • White-box switches cost 40–60% less than proprietary chassis (e.g., Cisco Nexus, Arista, Mellanox etc.).
  • Hyperscalers like Microsoft and Meta save billions by deploying SONiC on Broadcom-based switches.

2. No Vendor Lock-In

  • Mix and match hardware (e.g., Edgecore switches) with software (e.g., SONiC).
  • Telcos like AT&T use dNOS to avoid reliance on Cisco/Juniper for 5G core networks.

3. Flexible, Incremental Scaling

  • AI/ML clusters (e.g., NVIDIA’s Quantum-2) add switches as GPU workloads grow.
  • Cloud providers expand spine layers without forklift upgrades.

4. Enhanced Reliability

  • Failure isolation—a single switch failure doesn’t crash the network.
  • Multi-path redundancy (ECMP) ensures uptime for 5G and financial trading.

5. Supply Chain Resilience

  • Source hardware and software independently (e.g., during chip shortages).
  • Enterprises like Walmart avoid delays by using ODM switches.

Which Industries Benefit the Most?

1. Cloud & Hyperscale Providers

  • Use Case: Hyperscale data center fabrics.
  • Example: Microsoft Azure runs on SONiC-powered white boxes, reducing costs by 50%.

2. Telecommunications (5G & Open RAN)

  • Use Case: Disaggregated 5G core, mobile backhaul.
  • Example: Vodafone deploys Open vRAN with Dell white-box radios.

3. AI/ML & High-Performance Computing

  • Use Case: Low-latency GPU/TPU clusters.
  • Example: Google’s Jupiter network connects thousands of TPUs with minimal latency.

4. Financial Services & High-Frequency Trading

  • Use Case: Ultra-low-latency financial switching networks including UPI.
  • Example: NPCI uses Commodity Switches like Edgecore, UfiSpace with ArcOS and Sonic for UPI

5. Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

  • Use Case: Disaggregated BNGs, peering routers.
  • Example: Lumen uses DriveNets’ Network Cloud for scalable internet gateways.

Disaggregated vs. Traditional Networking: Key Differences

Factor Disaggregated Fabric Traditional Chassis
Cost Commodity hardware ($$) Vendor markup (\(\))
Scalability Add switches as needed (scale-out) Requires forklift upgrades
Vendor Flexibility Mix hardware/software vendors Locked into single vendor
Failure Impact Isolated to one node Entire chassis at risk
Innovation Speed Open-source NOS updates (fast) Vendor-controlled (slow)

The Future of Disaggregated Networking

  1. AI-Optimized Fabrics:
    • 800G/1.6Tbps fabrics for distributed AI training (e.g., Tesla Dojo).
  2. 6G & Quantum Networking:
    • Photonics-integrated white boxes for ultra-secure telecom networks.
  3. Chiplet-Based Switches:
    • Modular ASICs (Intel, Broadcom) enabling customizable forwarding pipelines.

Building a Basic Disaggregated Network Fabric

Basic Disaggregated Fabric HLD

1. Overview

A disaggregated network fabric uses commodity hardware (white-box switches) combined with open or commercial Network Operating Systems (NOS) to build scalable, cost-efficient, and flexible data center networks.

The provided diagram illustrates a multi-tier leaf-spine architecture with:

  • Terabit Switches (Spine layer)
  • Gigabit Switches (Leaf layer)
  • Compute Nodes (CPU and GPU based)

2. Key Components

a. Spine Layer (Terabit Switches)

  • High-bandwidth terabit switches form the spine.
  • Provide non-blocking any-to-any connectivity across racks.
  • Commodity options: Edgecore, UfiSpace with Broadcom Tomahawk ASICs.
  • NOS options: SONiC, Cumulus Linux, FRRouting (FRR).

b. Leaf Layer (Gigabit Switches)

  • Connects directly to compute nodes.
  • Aggregates traffic upward to spine switches.
  • White-box gigabit switches are deployed here with 100Gbps NIC support for high-performance nodes.

c. Compute Nodes

  • Mixture of CPU-based x86 or ARM servers for general workloads.
  • GPU-based servers (NVIDIA or AMD) for AI/ML or HPC workloads.
  • Each node connects to one or more leaf switches for redundancy and bandwidth aggregation.

3. Deployment Principles

a. Disaggregation

  • Use commodity white-box switches from ODMs.
  • Load open NOS (e.g., SONiC) or commercial NOS (e.g., Arrcus ArcOS) as per operational maturity.

b. BGP to the Host

  • All nodes run BGP peering directly from host to network, enabled by:

    • FRRouting (FRR) in the host OS.
    • IPv6 Unnumbered for link scalability.
    • BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection) for rapid failover.
    • ECMP (Equal Cost Multi-Pathing) for traffic load balancing across multiple links.

c. DPUs/NPUs for High Performance

  • Use Data Processing Units (DPU) or Network Processing Units (NPU) to realize 100Gbps per NIC efficiently.

  • Combine with:

    • DPDK for kernel bypass packet processing.
    • NOS + BGP + Cosmolet for Kubernetes-aware BGP service advertisement.

4. Key Benefits

  • ✅ Commodity hardware savings – no vendor markup
  • ✅ Scalable leaf-spine topology – add switches or servers incrementally
  • ✅ Failure isolation – each switch and host is an independent failure domain
  • ✅ Vendor flexibility – mix and match hardware and software
  • ✅ AI/ML ready – direct high-throughput GPU cluster connectivity

5. Implementation Summary

  1. Procure commodity white-box switches for spine and leaf layers.
  2. Install an open NOS like SONiC with FRRouting support.
  3. Design BGP peering to each host, enabling dynamic routing and failover.
  4. Deploy DPUs/NPUs on compute nodes needing line-rate performance.
  5. Integrate Cosmolet or similar controllers for Kubernetes service advertisement if deploying containerized workloads.
  6. Test failover, ECMP load balancing, and BGP route convergence before production rollout.

Conclusion: Is Disaggregation Right for You?

Disaggregated network fabrics are no longer just for hyperscalers—enterprises, telcos, and even financial firms are adopting them for:
✔ Lower costs (no vendor markup).
✔ Greater flexibility (avoid lock-in).
✔ Future-proof scalability (AI, 5G, IoT).

If your industry deals with massive data growth, strict latency demands, or the need for rapid innovation, disaggregation is worth exploring.

Ready to dive deeper? Learn how to deploy SONiC in your data center or explore white-box options for 5G networks.

What’s Next?
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