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Arista snatches-up SDN-pioneer Big Switch Networks

· Technology

Arista confirmed what had been rumored for the past few weeks, that it has acquired software-defined networking (SDN) and cloud-software vendor Big Switch Networks for an undisclosed amount.

Read more: Switch Networks

The move gives Arista a package of software technology that should complement Arista’s drive to meld data-center and campus networks with the multicloud deployments.

Big Switch technology will also grow Arista’s product line as it battles major competitors including Cisco, VMware and Juniper that have extended their data-center SDN platforms to provide consistent network and security policies across distributed multicloud environments.

Founded in 2010, privately owned Big Switch’s Big Cloud Fabric (BCF) software lets customers manage physical switches as a single fabric that includes security, automation, orchestration and analytics. BCF can run on a variety of certified switches from Dell EMC, HPE and others.

In addition, BCF Controller natively supports integration with various Cloud Management Platforms such as VMware (vSphere, NSX Manager, vSAN), and BCF for Amazon Web Services virtual private cloud (VPC) management and OpenStack. BCF also supports container orchestrators such as Kubernetes, all via a single interface.