Nokia community SONiC

Implement an open-source NOS for data center switching

Nokia community SONiC helps you innovate on your terms by bringing the flexibility of a modular, open-source network operating system (NOS) to your data center.

What is SONiC^®?

Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC^®) is an open-source, Linux-based NOS that runs on switches from multiple vendors and ASICs. SONiC was originally developed by Microsoft for its Azure data centers and is now part of the SONiC Foundation–Linux Foundation project.

What is Nokia community SONiC?

Nokia community SONiC combines the SONiC open-source NOS software with advanced hardware, leading-edge automation and expert support. It provides the capabilities you need to build modern data center networks that can efficiently meet the demands of all workloads.

The Nokia community SONiC solution includes:

Highly scalable merchant silicon-based hardware platforms, such as the Nokia 7250 IXR-10e, Nokia 7215 IXS and 7220 IXR-H series, that let you implement reliable data center switching architectures for leaf, spine, super-spine and management top-of-rack (ToR) applications
The SONiC open-source NOS, which offers a full suite of network functionality that has been production-hardened in some of the world’s most demanding cloud and data center environments
Nokia Event-Driven Automation (EDA), a modern data center network automation platform that combines speed, reliability and simplicity and provides guardrails that detect errors caused by automation
Expert development and test support provided by the Nokia NOS and network automation teams.

*SONiC and the SONiC logo are registered trademarks of The Linux Foundation.

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10 Dec 2024

Nokia Enhances Data Center Switching Portfolio with SONiC Support for Enterprises and Cloud Providers

21 Nov 2024

Nokia expands multi-year agreement to supply Microsoft Azure datacenter networks

Add choice and flexibility to data center switching with an open-source NOS

We support the SONiC open-source NOS because we want to give you maximum choice and flexibility when it comes to building modern data center networks. If you already use the SONiC NOS, you now have the option to take on your networking challenges with our proven data center hardware, software and expertise. If you’re curious about SONiC, you can deploy our hardware with SONiC or choose our best-in-class SR Linux NOS-based Data Center Fabric solution to evaluate the best fit for your data center networking environment.

Nokia community SONiC benefits and features

Nokia community SONiC empowers your data center team to use the strength of the large SONiC community and ecosystem to implement highly reliable and scalable open-source networking infrastructures. We support you with software expertise and proven design and test practices that have helped deliver key contributions to the SONiC community.

Innovate on your terms with an open-source NOS

We fully embrace open-source SONiC distributions to give you more flexibility and help you comply with the best practices of the SONiC ecosystem.

Adapt to any demand with a modular architecture

The modular design of SONiC makes your NOS software more flexible and provides support for multiple chipsets and hardware platforms.

Make your SONiC deployments more reliable

We combine highly resilient data center hardware platforms with best-in-class software design and test processes to support your SONiC-based deployments with unmatched reliability.

Work with a committed SONiC contributor

We’ve demonstrated our commitment to the SONiC community and ecosystem through notable contributions such as chassis-based developments, support for ARM architectures and small footprint optimizations.

Manage your data center network your way

Nokia community SONiC empowers you to use modern protocols, telemetry and northbound interfaces such as gRPC, REST and gNMI to implement your own unified management tools.

Bring predictability to network automation

Our next-generation EDA platform makes data center network automation more trustable and easier to use for a broad range of use cases.

“As leaders in the advancement of cloud compute, we are continuously expanding our global footprint to support the massive growth in compute workloads. Over the past six years we have worked with Nokia's engineers to develop their routers running SONiC to rapidly advance our expansion at the quality our customers demand.”

David Maltz

Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure Networking

“Nokia has long been a supporter of the open-source community, and its announcement of SONiC in support of its data center switching portfolio is a natural next step. This announcement reinforces Nokia’s commitment to providing its customers with innovative and adaptable solutions for the fast-evolving demands of data centers, from traditional IT workloads to cutting-edge AI applications.”

Alan Weckel

Co-founder and Technology Analyst, 650 Group