Extreme Networks added capabilities to its data center Fabric Automation software and rolled out two new switches built on Broadcom’s Trident 3 switch ASICs. Both of the new switches, the SLX 9150 leaf switch and the SLX 9250 spine switch, ship with embedded Extreme Fabric Automation.

When it comes to automation, “for the data center, we look at this as a feature,” said Dan DeBacker, director of product management at Extreme Networks. By this he means the software isn’t a separate product to buy; it simply comes with the SLX platform.

“Everybody does automation,” he added. “But we truly believe we’re the only ones that provide it as a feature and have it embedded in the switch.”

The vendor first moved into data center networking last year with a bundled hardware and software platform that includes networking, automation, management, and analytics tools. This included data center switching and routing hardware acquired from Brocade.

During the past 12 months it’s put a lot of work into its Fabric Automation software with the goal of making networking really simple for the customer, DeBacker said. “This data center solution scales from the very small – two switches in a rack that can be fully automated. It’s not a one size fits all, but it does scale from one end to the other.”

And because the Fabric Automation is decoupled from the operating system on the switch, companies can upgrade the automation software without having to upgrade the operating system. This is significant because Extreme drops new fabric releases every 12 weeks.

Part of the vendor’s emphasis on simplicity includes the capability to deploy a fabric in seconds after cabling devices, powering on the switches, and running the Extreme Fabric Automation application from any SLX spine or leaf switch. Extreme customer Trunk Networks said using the Fabric Automation tool allows its IT team to “set up the network in minutes without having to use additional, expensive server infrastructure.”

The automation software also gives customers deployment options. It is hosted on the on the guest virtual machine (VM) of the SLX 9150 leaf switch or the SLX 9250 spine switch. And it can also be hosted on an external VM, which provides on-premises and private cloud deployment options.

“The other major point we’re adding in this release is ecosystem integration,” DeBacker said. Fabric Automation now integrates with orchestration software including OpenStack, VMware vCenter, and Microsoft SCVMM. Each integration is a separate microservice, and it uses the application’s fabric awareness.

“The reason we selected VMware, Microsoft, and OpenStack is really to hit a wider addressable market,” DeBacker said, adding that Extreme will add new integrations in future releases. “VMware is pretty dominant across the board but if we look at certain verticals, Microsoft is very strong in education because of the cost factor. And if we flip it to the other end of the spectrum, we look at cloud service providers and regional service providers, they use OpenStack.”

Additionally, the new switches are undergoing testing and qualification to support security certifications. Both are TAA compliant and will support FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria (CC), USGv6, and DoDIN APL beginning in the first quarter of 2020.