In the world of enterprise edge networking, we’re stepping into a new chapter of innovation and collaboration. We’re thrilled to announce that the SONiC Foundation, in collaboration with member organizations Aviz, Wistron, Cisco, and Celestica, has launched the PENS (PoE Edge Networks with SONiC) workgroup. This new initiative isn’t just a leap forward—it’s a tailored approach to reshaping enterprise edge environments using SONiC’s robust and scalable features, which has traditionally been used in cloud-scale and data center contexts.
Why Edge Networking?
Edge networking is at a pivotal juncture, facing an exponential increase in demand due to the surge of edge devices, users, and the need for advanced connectivity across diverse locations, from bustling retail stores to dynamic remote offices. SONiC’s expansion into edge networks through the PENS workgroup is set to meet these challenges head-on.
What the PENS Workgroup is About
The PENS workgroup will focus on tailoring SONiC’s capabilities to meet the unique needs of edge LANs. This includes integrating Edge-specific protocols such as Power Over Ethernet (PoE), Spanning Tree, and 802.1x. These enhancements are designed to support a variety of deployment scenarios, improving the connectivity and efficiency of networks at the edge of enterprise operations.
Engagement from Industry Leaders
The formation of the PENS workgroup has sparked enthusiasm across the community, drawing in a diverse group of participants from network operators to software developers, hardware vendors to end-users. This diverse participation ensures that the workgroup’s outcomes will address the broad spectrum of connectivity challenges faced at the enterprise edge.
Get Involved
We invite anyone interested in contributing to the advancement of edge networking technologies to join the PENS Workgroup. For more information about the SONiC workgroup for edge deployments or to learn how to participate, please visit the Linux Foundation’s SONiC community page.
