In order to enable a more software-defined environment, today Dell is unveiling the first products of its new campus and data center architecture.

The new products include Dell’s C9010 Network Director switch and the C1048 Rapid Access Node, targeting medium-to-large scale campus networks. The new products can provide a single management view, from access to core, to simplify management of networks, says Tom Burns, vice president of Dell’s networking and enterprise infrastructure business.

“If you think about the core principal of software-defined networks, its around simplification of the configuration, management, and policy setting,” he says. “We think the campus architecture around the C9000 and C1000 is a very strong architecture and set of solutions for software-defined environments.”

Dell’s C9010 Network Director is a modular switch that scales up to 4,000 virtual ports. The switch, which will be available next month, supports 10 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s Ethernet and offers a tool-free upgrade to 100 Gb/s.

The C9000 line — based on Dell’s OS 9, which supports the OpenFlow 1.3 specification — can be deployed as a traditional campus switch in wiring closets, but Burns says it can also act as a controller to provide security and policy definitions.

When paired with the C9000 access node, the C1000 line can act as core extenders for “what you might say is virtualized switching,” Burns says. The C1000 can be used standalone or in stacked configurations.

“You can go to a hybrid model with certain groups, offices, floors, and functions in a building by moving to this access node environment with our C1000,” Burns says. “If customers have purchased our current N-Series campus products, our N2000 or N3000, in the first half of next year they’ll be able to transform those traditional network switches to become basically port extenders for access nodes through a software upgrade.”

New Switch

Dell is also rolling out the S6100-ON switch today. Like the C9000, it’s a 100-Gb/s-capable switch that runs Dell’s OpenFlow 1.3-based OS 9, enabling interactivity with partners NEC and Big Switch Networks.

“You can also enable other areas around hypervisors such as VMware and Microsoft, and we’re also working with Red Hat in OpenStack,” Burns says.

The S6100 comes with the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE), firmware from the Facebook-backed Open Compute Project that allows a “zero touch” installation of various operating systems, so the customer isn’t locked into one type of software. Options permitted by Dell’s OS 9 include Cumulus Networks, Big Switch, IP Infusion, and, starting at the beginning of the first quarter, Pluribus, Burns says.

The S6100 is slated for general availability in the first quarter.