Akanda, Aptira and Cumulus Networks’ Partnership Gives OpenStack Cloud Operators Unprecedented Networking Simplification

Akanda, the major contributor and supporter of the recently launched OpenStack Project Astara, today announced partnerships with Aptira and Cumulus Networks to provide OpenStack customers with innovative networking solutions that bring better consistency, performance, and flexibility to OpenStack clouds.  Together, Akanda, Aptira and Cumulus will help customers rapidly deploy the most comprehensive and supported open source networking stack, built for enterprises, service providers and cloud platforms.

Akanda is revolutionizing the network virtualization industry by delivering Astara, the first open source, vendor agnostic network orchestration platform that uniquely addresses the complex nature of OpenStack Neutron implementations. The Astara platform simplifies the daily operations common to OpenStack operators by providing a sophisticated lifecycle management and orchestration platform to monitor, configure, and manage network services (routing, load balancing, etc.) in multi-tenant OpenStack environments. A hardened, production-proven platform, Astara has been powering network virtualization at DreamHost for over two years. 

Akanda and Cumulus Networks have extended their partnership to advance networking for OpenStack cloud operators by providing tighter integration and support for Dynamic Lightweight Network Virtualization (DLNV), the industry’s first lightweight network overlay solution for cloud services on bare metal switches. The Astara platform orchestrates the Linux Bridge driver and multi-tenant Layer 3 through 7 functionality to the Cumulus Networks hardware-accelerated underlay. Tightly integrating the two platforms gives operators a complete OpenStack-ready networking stack and provides simplification, flexibility and agility that is unmatched by traditional network vendors.

"Our joint solution with Akanda represents a new way to meet the performance and networking needs of OpenStack users," said Nolan Leake, co-Founder and CTO of Cumulus Networks. "As our customers consider their choices for OpenStack deployments, this partnership enables the delivery of best-in-class network virtualization with dramatically reduced costs."

Akanda and Aptira have partnered to enable customers to harness the power of the Astara platform and rapidly deploy these exciting new networking capabilities to deliver end-to-end open source clouds.  Aptira is the leading provider of OpenStack in the APAC region, offering private and hybrid cloud solutions to meet the most demanding specifications.

"At Aptira we’ve built our reputation providing our customers with the best suited and highest value solutions – delivering innovation rather than yesterday’s technologies," said Tristan Goode, CEO of Aptira. "Our partnership combines a cutting edge solution for network virtualization with Aptira’s exacting delivery in APAC and around the world.  We’re delighted to combine forces to bring our many enterprise and service provider customers the disruptive OpenStack NFV solutions of tomorrow, today…"

How Does This Benefit OpenStack Cloud Operators?

• Comprehensive Solution – A complete L2-L7 OpenStack-ready, production-proven networking stack delivering:
  • Accelerated VXLAN traffic for tenant network isolation
  • Optimal hypervisor and top-of-rack switch network performance
  • Support for multi-vendor environments enables dual vendor strategies and differentiated deployments based on cost (e.g. Dev/Test vs. Prod.)
• Simplification – Dramatic reduction in cost and complexity for multi-tenant clouds
  • An end-to-end open source cloud networking solution that helps customers quickly include new capabilities, reduce development time and cut costs
  • An L2-agnostic architecture designed to work with Neutron and the existing network, not replace them. Astara eliminates the need for complex SDN controllers, overlays, and multiple cloud networking plugins
  • Customers maintain a competitive edge without the need for expensive networking gear
• Expertise – Three world-class teams aligned to enable rapid deployment
  • Deep SMEs in OpenStack, Neutron, and Networking
  • Customers can focus their DevOps teams on critical core competencies

"By delivering an open, extensible, and fully-integrated solution, Astara’s open source platform helps OpenStack cloud operators decrease networking costs, increase operational flexibility and free themselves from restrictive and expensive proprietary networking systems," said Mark McClain, co-Founder and CTO of Akanda. "We’re thrilled to partner with Cumulus Networks and Aptira to rapidly deploy this joint solution.  Astara gives OpenStack cloud operators with multi-tenant networking needs a lot more freedom."

OpenStack Tokyo Summit attendees can learn more about the Astara platform – and how customers can quickly realize the benefits of an integrated Akanda and Cumulus Networks solution – at our booths and at numerous Summit sessions.  Mark McClain, CTO of Akanda and Nolan Leake, CTO of Cumulus Networks, will showcase the solution at a joint presentation, Neutron Hierarchical Port Binding in Practice: Experiences with At-Scale Production, on Wednesday, October 28th from 5:30 to 6:10pm. Both parties will be available in booth T44 to discuss the details.