FTOS

Last updated

FTOS or Force10 Operating System is the firmware family used on Force10 Ethernet switches. It has a similar functionality as Cisco's NX-OS or Juniper's Junos. FTOS 10 is running on Debian. As part of a re-branding strategy of Dell FTOS will be renamed to Dell Networking Operating System (DNOS) 9.x or above, while the legacy PowerConnect switches will use DNOS 6.x: see the separate article on DNOS.

Contents

Hardware Abstraction Layer

Three of the four product families from Dell Force10 are using the Broadcom Trident+ ASIC's, but the company doesn't use the API's from Broadcom: the developers at Force10 have written their own Hardware Abstraction Layer so that FTOS can run on different hardware platforms with minimal impact for the firmware. Currently three of the four F10 switch families are based on the Broadcom Trident+ (while the fourth—the E-series—run on self-developed ASIC's [1] ); and if the product developers want or need to use different hardware for new products they only need to develop a HAL for that new hardware and the same firmware can run on it. This keeps the company flexible and not dependent on a specific hardware-vendor and can use both 3rd party or self designed ASIC's and chipsets.

The human interface in FTOS, that is the way network-administrators can configure and monitor their switches, is based on NetBSD, an implementation which often used in embedded networking-systems. NetBSD is a very stable, open source, OS running on many different hardware platforms. By choosing for a proven technology with extended TCP functionality built into the core of the OS it reduces time during development of new products or extending the FTOS with new features. [2]

Modular setup

FTOS is also modular where different parts of the OS run independently from each other within one switch: if one process would fail the impact on other processes on the switch are limited. This modular setup is also taken to the hardware level in some product-lines where a routing-module has three separate CPU's: one for management, one for L2 and one for L3 processing. This same approach is also used in the newer firmware-families from Cisco like the NX-OS for the Nexus product-line or the IOS XR for the high-end routers (the Carrier Routing Systems) from Cisco. (and unlike the original IOS: processes under IOS aren't isolated from each other). This approach is regarded not only a way to make the firmware more resilient but also increases the security of the switches [3] [4]

Capabilities

All FTOS based switches offer a wide range of layer2 and layer3 protocols. All features are available on all switches: some switch models (in the S-series) offer an additional license for layer3 or routing: this additional license is NOT required to use that protocol, but only required to get support from the Dell Force10 support department on using these features. All interfaces on FTOS running switches are configured as a layer3 interface and by default shutdown. To use such an interface as an ethernet switchport you need to configure it as such (with the command "switchport") and then enable that port using "no shutdown".

Layer2 capabilities

All standardized ethernet standards are supported by switches running FTOS including: Spanning Tree Protocol and RSTP, VLAN and the IEEE 802.1Q standards, QinQ or IEEE 802.1ad, Link Layer Discovery Protocol and LLDP MED. The S-series switches ending with a V and some of the E-series line-cards support Power over Ethernet or PoE with the standards for this protocol.

Layer3 capabilities

As mentioned above, by default an interface on a switch running FTOS are configured as a layer3 port. All FTOS switches are thus routers with many interfaces that can (and most often are) reconfigured into a layer2 ethernet switch.

All FTOS switches run at least the following routing protocols: Routing Information Protocol and RIP version 2, OSPF, IS-IS and Border Gateway Protocol version 4.

Management Interface

Switches running FTOS can only be configured using a command-line interface or CLI: FTOS doesn't offer a web-based Graphical user interface. Initial configuration is done via the console port using either a straight-through or roll-over cable (depending on model) to a terminal on 9600 bit/s and some models also support an AUX port allowing remote management via a dial-in modem. Most switches have a standard serial port or offer a USB-B port. After initial configuration access to the cli is possible via telnet and/or SSH. FTOS based switches also support SNMP and file-transfer (FTOS upgrades and startup-configuration data) can be done via FTP, TFTP or Secure copy [5] Most switches running FTOS offer a dedicated management interface where the IP routing to/from the management system is not part of the internal switching or routing system. Some S-series switches only offer in-band management using a physical router interface or a VLAN interface in layer-3 mode.

Open Automation

Under the name OpenAutomation 2.0 Dell Networking switches running DNOS 9.x (the new brand-name for FTOS) offers a number of features under this name. These features include: [6]

Smart Scripting

Dell Force10 switches support so called smart scripting. It is possible to develop scripts that run on the switches running FTOS. Both Perl and Python are supported as scripting languages to automate environment specific repetitive tasks or to build in custom behavior. Users who write such scripts are promoted to share these scripts with the user-community and make them available to other Force10/DNOS users. [7] Force10 introduced the smart scripting in FTOS in 2010, following other vendors like Cisco for their Nexus product range [8]

Bare metal provisioning

Force10 switches support a bare metal provisioning option: if you need to deploy a number of similar switches you can put both (desired/latest) firmware release and standard user-specific configuration on a USB key: when deploying the switches you can insert the USB key, power-up the switch and it will automatically load the correct firmware and configuration. In combination with smart scripting someone can combine these features for a fully automated installation and configuration of new switches.

Virtual server networking

Part of the Open Automation platform are special features for the use of virtualization in your datacenter. Virtualization allows you to create complete (virtual) server-systems running on a standard hypervisor farm. This will create new challenges for networking in such a datacenter, support automated configuration of datacenter switches to connect newly created virtual servers. The open automation platform has several features to support this [9] .

Network Automation

According to Dell the move to (server and datacenter) virtualization is one of the most important developments in the IT industry. According to this vendor the industry must prevent that this path leads to getting locked-in into specific vendors due to the use of proprietary technologies. The open automation framework is an open framework that doesn't rely on proprietary solutions [9] [10]

Sources and references

  1. ↑ "Architecture description of the Force10 E-series platform" (PDF). Force10. 2006. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  2. ↑ "FTOS Datasheet" (PDF). Force10. Retrieved 2012-01-28.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Force10 FTOS 7.8". Communication Security Establishment Canada (CSEC). Archived from the original on 2011-08-19.
  4. ↑ "Security Target: Force10 Networks FTOS 7.8" (PDF). CSEC. 2009-08-17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  5. ↑ FTOS Configuration Guide, 6 February 2008. Retrieved: 18 May 2012
  6. ↑ Dell Force10 Open Automation 2.0, visited 29 May 2013
  7. ↑ Humair Ahmed offering FTOS scripts to others. Checked 10 May 2013
  8. ↑ Networkcomputing.com: F10 enhances open automation framework with.... [ permanent dead link ], 9 November 2010. Visited: 29 May 2013
  9. 1 2 Technical Whitepaper: Network automation with F10 Open Automation Framework, downloaded 25 May 2013
  10. ↑ Dell technical specsheet: Open Automation Framework Archived 2013-03-19 at the Wayback Machine , downloaded: 29 May 2013

Related Research Articles

A network switch is networking hardware that connects devices on a computer network by using packet switching to receive and forward data to the destination device.

A network operating system (NOS) is a specialized operating system for a network device such as a router, switch or firewall.

The Internetworking Operating System (IOS) is a family of proprietary network operating systems used on several router and network switch models manufactured by Cisco Systems. The system is a package of routing, switching, internetworking, and telecommunications functions integrated into a multitasking operating system. Although the IOS code base includes a cooperative multitasking kernel, most IOS features have been ported to other kernels, such as Linux and QNX, for use in Cisco products.

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a proprietary data link layer protocol developed by Cisco Systems in 1994 by Keith McCloghrie and Dino Farinacci. It is used to share information about other directly connected Cisco equipment, such as the operating system version and IP address. CDP can also be used for On-Demand Routing, which is a method of including routing information in CDP announcements so that dynamic routing protocols do not need to be used in simple networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wireless router</span> Computer networking device

A wireless router or Wi-Fi router is a device that performs the functions of a router and also includes the functions of a wireless access point. It is used to provide access to the Internet or a private computer network. Depending on the manufacturer and model, it can function in a wired local area network, in a wireless-only LAN, or in a mixed wired and wireless network.

The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is a set of computer interface specifications for an autonomous computer subsystem that provides management and monitoring capabilities independently of the host system's CPU, firmware and operating system. IPMI defines a set of interfaces used by system administrators for out-of-band management of computer systems and monitoring of their operation. For example, IPMI provides a way to manage a computer that may be powered off or otherwise unresponsive by using a network connection to the hardware rather than to an operating system or login shell. Another use case may be installing a custom operating system remotely. Without IPMI, installing a custom operating system may require an administrator to be physically present near the computer, insert a DVD or a USB flash drive containing the OS installer and complete the installation process using a monitor and a keyboard. Using IPMI, an administrator can mount an ISO image, simulate an installer DVD, and perform the installation remotely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Link aggregation</span> Using multiple network connections in parallel to increase capacity and reliability

In computer networking, link aggregation is the combining of multiple network connections in parallel by any of several methods. Link aggregation increases total throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, and provides redundancy where all but one of the physical links may fail without losing connectivity. A link aggregation group (LAG) is the combined collection of physical ports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisco Catalyst</span> Ethernet switch product line

Catalyst is the brand for a variety of network switches, wireless controllers, and wireless access points sold by Cisco Systems. While commonly associated with Ethernet switches, a number of different types of network interfaces have been available throughout the history of the brand. Cisco acquired several different companies and rebranded their products as different versions of the Catalyst product line. The original Catalyst 5000 and 6000 series were based on technology acquired from Crescendo Communications. The 1700, 1900, and 2800 series Catalysts came from Grand Junction Networks, and the Catalyst 3000 series came from Kalpana in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VMware ESXi</span> Enterprise-class, type-1 hypervisor for deploying and serving virtual computers

VMware ESXi is an enterprise-class, type-1 hypervisor developed by VMware, a subsidiary of Broadcom, for deploying and serving virtual computers. As a type-1 hypervisor, ESXi is not a software application that is installed on an operating system (OS); instead, it includes and integrates vital OS components, such as a kernel.

The current portfolio of PowerConnect switches are now being offered as part of the Dell Networking brand: information on this page is an overview of all current and past PowerConnect switches as per August 2013, but any updates on current portfolio will be detailed on the Dell Networking page.

Dell Force10, was a United States company that developed and marketed 10 Gigabit and 40 Gigabit Ethernet switches for computer networking to corporate, educational, and governmental customers. It had offices in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

NX-OS is a network operating system for the Nexus-series Ethernet switches and MDS-series Fibre Channel storage area network switches made by Cisco Systems. It evolved from the Cisco operating system SAN-OS, originally developed for its MDS switches.

The Cisco Nexus series switches are modular and fixed port network switches designed for the data center. Cisco Systems introduced the Nexus Series of switches on January 28, 2008. The first chassis in the Nexus 7000 family is a 10-slot chassis with two supervisor engine slots and eight I/O module slots at the front, as well as five crossbar switch fabric modules at the rear. Beside the Nexus 7000 there are also other models in the Nexus range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junos OS</span> Real-time operating system (RTOS) software

Junos OS is a FreeBSD-based network operating system used in Juniper Networks routing, switching and security devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dell M1000e</span> Server computer

The Dell blade server products are built around their M1000e enclosure that can hold their server blades, an embedded EqualLogic iSCSI storage area network and I/O modules including Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand switches.

Arista Networks, Inc. is an American computer networking company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company designs and sells multilayer network switches to deliver software-defined networking (SDN) for large datacenter, cloud computing, high-performance computing, and high-frequency trading environments. These products include 10/25/40/50/100/200/400/800 gigabit low-latency cut-through Ethernet switches. Arista's Linux-based network operating system, Extensible Operating System (EOS), runs on all Arista products.

Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) is a name that has been used for at least two proprietary network protocols. A link aggregation protocol developed by Force10 and an early VLAN tagging capability from 3Com.

Dell Networking is the name for the networking portfolio of Dell. In the first half of 2013, Dell started to rebrand their different existing networking product brands to Dell Networking. Dell Networking is the name for the networking equipment that was known as Dell PowerConnect, as well as the Force10 portfolio.

DNOS or Dell Networking Operating System is a network operating system running on switches from Dell Networking. It is derived from either the PowerConnect OS or Force10 OS/FTOS and will be made available for the 10G and faster Dell Networking S-series switches, the Z-series 40G core switches and DNOS6 is available for the N-series switches.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.