Facebook released its open switching system (code-named “FBOSS”) on GitHub. The initial release consists primarily of the FBOSS agent, a daemon that runs on each switch and manages the hardware forwarding ASIC. It receives information via configuration files and thrift APIs and then programs the correct forwarding and routing entries into the chip. It also processes packets from the ASIC that are destined to the switch itself, such as control plane protocol traffic, and other packets that cannot be processed solely in hardware. Facebook describes FBOSS as a set of applications that can be run on a standard Linux OS.
Facebook also said it is planning to contribute the specification for its top-of-rack switch (code-named “Wedge”) to the OCP networking project. Wedge top-of-rack switches use a single Broadcom Trident II ASIC for high-speed forwarding. Wedge will be available through Accton and its OEMs and channel partners.
