Forrester Research recognized Arista, Juniper and Huawei as leaders among the data center hardware platform vendors for software-defined networking (SDN) for the first quarter of 2018.
The report titled “The Forrester Wave: Hardware Platforms for Software-Defined Networking, Q1 2018” analyzed the top 9 vendors in data center hardware platforms for SDN, to find how these vendors help I&O (infrastructure & operations) professionals as they migrate to cloud.
The vendors in the list included Arista Networks, Extreme Networks, Cisco Systems, Cumulus Networks, Dell, Huawei, Juniper Networks, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Pluribus Networks. All these vendors provide switching hardware and operating system for data center, programming built into switching hardware, as well as switching hardware that can function as a standalone product.
Source: Forrester
Arista Networks was identified as a leader in Forrester’s report, followed by Juniper Networks and Huawei. Arista’s growth in data center networking switches market was majorly driven by Arista’s Operating System (EOS), extensive API sets and focus on developing data center networking solutions. The company allows customers to deploy EOS on third-party hardware, cloud platforms, and inside containers, and provides paths to automation.
Juniper Networks recently expanded its product portfolio with an array of new hardware, software and services, to make the enterprises multi-cloud ready. Juniper’s product portfolio is based on its own operating system called JunOS, which runs on a virtualized Linux environment. It provides its own management solution for traditional switch management and the option of choosing OpenContrail or its Contrail controllers for central automation.
For secure migration from on-premises to cloud, Juniper offers onboarding services with virtual products like vSRX Virtual Firewall, available in AWS and Azure.
Huawei cuts a place in the leaders’ list for its Agile and CloudEngine switch series for data center. The company’s data center networking portfolio includes a broad range of services, and holds a strong share in the market within China, Africa, Asia, Europe, and South Africa.
Also read: Dell EMC, HPE and IBM continue their dominance in global server market
With traditional switching technology going outdated and becoming less effective, vendors who provide multi-language programming, consistency and disaggregation will gain lead over others.
Cisco, Cumulus, and Extreme Networks were listed as Strong Performers, while Alcatel-Lucent, Pluribus, and Dell were the contenders.
