Best Network Operating Systems (NOS) for Linux

CacheGuard-OS transforms a virtual or bare metal machine into a powerful and easy to handle network appliance. It's a Linux based Operating System built from scratch and especially designed to Secure and Optimize the network traffic. Great care has been taken by CacheGuard-OS developers to select the best of the best Open Source technologies to integrate into CacheGuard-OS. The result is a robust and trustworthy solution that can be up and running within minutes. CacheGuard-OS integrates Open Source software such as but not limited to OpenSSL, NetFilter, IProute2, StrongSwan, ClamAV, Apache, ModSecurity, Squid and Open Source developments made by CacheGuard-OS developers.

Democratizing how we access networks through a universal router and open source software. Our vision at VyOS is to dramatically change how we access networks so that we can all build the solutions we always dreamed of, without restrictions, limitations, or prohibitive costs. We fundamentally believe that internet access is as vital to our human development as air, food, water, and healthcare. Built by engineers for engineers, VyOS is an open source software company that democratizes how we access networks so that the many, not the few, benefit from building solutions without limitations and prohibitive fees. We do this as VyOS through our open source software and virtual platforms. Stateful firewalls, zone-based firewall, all types of source and destination NAT (one to one, one to many, many to many). The entire codebase and build toolchain are available to everyone for auditing, building customized images and contributing.

NVIDIA offers pure SONiC, a community-developed, open-source, Linux-based network operating system that has been hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud service providers. Pure SONiC through NVIDIA removes distribution limitations and lets enterprises take full advantage of the benefits of open networking—as well as the NVIDIA expertise, experience, training, documentation, professional services, and support that best guarantee success. NVIDIA provides support for Free Range Routing (FRR), SONiC, Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI), systems, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC)—all in one place. Unlike a distribution, SONiC doesn’t require reliance upon a single vendor for roadmap additions, bug fixes, or security patches. With SONiC, you can achieve unified management with existing management tools across the data center.

Junos® OS automates network operations with streamlined precision, furthers operational efficiency, and frees up valuable time and resources for top-line growth opportunities. Built for reliability, security, and flexibility, Junos OS runs many of the world’s most sophisticated network deployments, giving operators an advantage over those who run competing network operating systems. Reduces the time and effort required to plan, deploy, and operate network infrastructure. Extends traditional disaggregation by creating a flexible consumption model for network applications and provides a highly scalable software that keeps pace with evolving requirements. Makes the insertion of line cards and the subsequent network OS upgrade a non-service impacting event. Cloud providers understand that operating a flexible, cost-effective network requires simplified operations across a highly scalable infrastructure.

Moving to Open Networking bare metal switches brings significant operational and financial benefits to build next-generation networks. These switches provide the capacity needed to achieve cloud-scale, agility, elasticity, and adaptability. As you move to a disaggregated open networking strategy, selecting the right Network Operating System (OS) is a critical success factor. Why? The Network OS deployed unlocks the performance, functionality, and services from Open Networking switches to realize the most value. Netvisor® ONE is an open, secure, and programable next-generation Network OS that is purpose-built to optimize the power and performance of bare metal Open Networking hardware. Deployment-proven in production mission-critical enterprise and carrier networks, Netvisor ONE operating system meets the most stringent performance requirements and delivers the maximum levels of reliability and flexibility at scale, and without compromise.

Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS®) is the core of Arista cloud networking solutions for next-generation data centers and cloud networks. Cloud architectures built with Arista EOS scale to hundreds of thousands of compute and storage nodes with management and provisioning capabilities that work at scale. Through its programmability, EOS enables a set of software applications that deliver workflow automation, high availability, unprecedented network visibility and analytics and rapid integration with a wide range of third-party applications for virtualization, management, automation and orchestration services. Arista EOS is a fully programmable and highly modular, Linux-based network operation system, using familiar industry standard CLI and runs a single binary software image across the Arista switching family.

The one-of-a-kind PICOS open NOS with tightly coupled control planes gives network operators surgical, non-disruptive control of their enterprise applications, deep and dynamic traffic monitoring, and even attack mitigation, all in real time. There’s no better way to implement zero-trust networking and software-defined perimeters than PICOS. Our flagship open network operating system installs on 1G- to 100G-interface open switches from a broad array of Tier 1 manufacturers. This fully featured license offers the most comprehensive support for enterprise features on the market. It includes the Debian Linux distribution, with an unmodified kernel for maximum DevOps programmability. Enterprise Edition also includes AmpCon, an Ansible-based automation framework that couples Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) with the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) to simplify installation and operation of open network switches across the enterprise.

Hyperscale networking software engineered for the distributed 5G wave, from the data center to the core to edge to multi-cloud, delivers massive scale and ultra-fast convergence. Integrated monitoring and analytics engine offers deep network visibility and real-time intelligence along with predictive analytics and actionable insights. Run ACE on your existing infrastructure, deploy from anywhere, and reduce your operating expenses with faster onboarding and higher reliability. Fully compliant with open standards and allows network operators to seamlessly integrate with 3rd-party automation and orchestration tools. ACE platform offers a three-layer stack with a flexible, scalable architecture to interconnect enterprise data centers and service/cloud provider infrastructure. The industry's first internet-scale, independent network operating system. Scale-out route reflector with industry-leading convergence times. Actionable real-time intelligence for your network.