Juniper Networks, the recently acquired Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) firm, joined a handful of firms that recently pledged to support the Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) Foundation.

Juniper and others joined the Foundation, which supports an open-source, Linux-based network operating system designed specifically for data centers and cloud environments.

Originally developed by Microsoft and previously reserved for hyperscale data centers, SONiC is now becoming more accessible, enabling network operators of any size to use a single software stack across hardware from different vendors.

Following its pledge to support SONiC, Juniper said that the move will deepen its commitment to open networking and accelerate innovation for its customers.

Joining the now HPE-owned Juniper in supporting the Foundation were networking firms including Aureka, IA Cloud, Larch Networks, and Pantheon.tech, as well as Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Electric Industries.

“SONiC is rapidly becoming the Linux for modern networking, providing a crucial, unified open platform that abstracts diverse hardware,” said Subhachandra Chandra, Aureka’s CTO. “This abstraction is essential for fostering a rich ecosystem of products for the next generation of AI and cloud networking.”

The group pledged its support at the Open Source Summit Europe 2025, taking place this week in Amsterdam. There, the University of Rome Tor Vergata also signed up to the SONiC Foundation, bringing its global membership total to 36 organizations.

The half dozen new members add to existing SONiC members, including Augtera Networks, Celestica, Edgecore Network Corporation, and Netweb Technologies, among others.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our new members to the SONiC community,” said Arpit Joshipura, SVP and general manager for networking, edge, and IoT at the Linux Foundation. “The diversity of backgrounds and technical leadership are key to accelerating open, disaggregated networking at scale.”