Author: Ilona Gabinsky, VP of Marketing at Aviz Networks
The rise of SONiC—Software for Open Networking in the Cloud—has introduced a major shift in the networking industry, offering enterprises an open-source, disaggregated alternative to traditional proprietary network operating systems (NOS). But as with any transformative technology, SONiC’s rapid adoption has brought with it some persistent myths and misconceptions.
This blog aims to clarify the most common misunderstandings about SONiC and shed light on its current capabilities, ecosystem, and enterprise-readiness.
Myth #1: SONiC is Only for Hyperscalers
Reality: SONiC is Being Deployed Across Enterprises, Campuses, and AI Workloads
While SONiC was initially developed and deployed in hyperscale environments, it has since matured into a viable option for a broad range of organizations. Today, enterprises in sectors such as healthcare, retail, telecommunications, and financial services are adopting SONiC to modernize their networks, reduce vendor lock-in, and improve cost efficiency.
SONiC has been validated in a variety of real-world scenarios, including:
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 enterprise networking;
- AI and ML data center fabrics;
- Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) applications on open hardware platforms.
This evolution demonstrates that SONiC is no longer confined to hyperscalers—it’s ready for enterprise-scale operations.
Myth #2: SONiC is Difficult to Deploy
Reality: Deployment Workflows Have Become Enterprise-Friendly
There’s a lingering belief that deploying SONiC requires deep coding expertise or hyperscaler-level resources. That may have been true during SONiC’s early evolution, but the ecosystem has since matured significantly.
Recent industry efforts, including collaborative testing events and increased community contributions, have led to improvements in SONiC usability. From Layer 2 networking to AI-ready fabrics, organizations are validating SONiC across diverse use cases—demonstrating that enterprise-grade deployment is achievable today.
As open-source adoption accelerates, SONiC’s tooling, documentation, and community-driven practices continue to evolve—helping reduce friction and enabling broader adoption beyond cloud-native specialists.
Myth #3: SONiC Lacks Vendor and Community Support
Reality: A Robust Ecosystem—and Commercial Support—Backs SONiC
Some assume that open-source networking projects like SONiC leave enterprises to fend for themselves. In reality, SONiC is developed under the Linux Foundation and supported by a growing global community of contributors across hardware vendors, integrators, and end users.
For organizations seeking additional assurance, commercial support options are available to supplement the open-source community. Several companies in the SONiC ecosystem offer enterprise-grade support, helping organizations deploy and manage SONiC at scale. To explore available vendors and services, check out the list of SONiC community members actively contributing to the project. This combination of open collaboration and professional services ensures enterprises have the flexibility to deploy SONiC with confidence—at scale and with stability.
Myth #4: SONiC Is Not Cost-Effective Compared to Traditional NOS
Reality: SONiC Enables Meaningful TCO Reductions
One of SONiC’s core advantages is its disaggregated cost model. By decoupling software from hardware, organizations avoid bundled software license fees and gain the ability to select more affordable network components.
Key cost benefits include:
- No software licensing costs (reducing recurring OpEx);
- Use of commodity optics and white-box switches;
- Vendor flexibility reduces supply chain risk and cost variance.
Across multiple production environments, this model has delivered total cost of ownership (TCO) savings of up to 40% over traditional integrated solutions—particularly in environments scaling for AI or cloud-native workloads.
Myth #5: SONiC Is a Passing Trend
Reality: SONiC Is on Track to Become a Long-Term Foundation for Open Networking
Skeptics often view open-source NOS projects as short-lived experiments. However, SONiC’s trajectory points to the opposite. With growing adoption across enterprises, hyperscalers, and AI infrastructure providers—and with increasing involvement from the open-source community—SONiC continues to mature in stability, feature set, and ecosystem reach.
Recent community milestones include:
- Expanded support for Layer 2/EVPN bridging;
- Advanced telemetry and streaming analytics support;
- Dual Top-of-Rack (ToR) and MC-LAG architectures;
- More than 100 contributors across organizations and geographies.
SONiC is already being integrated into long-term infrastructure roadmaps across multiple industries.
The Verdict: SONiC Is Ready for the Enterprise
The myths surrounding SONiC are quickly giving way to a new reality: SONiC is a battle-tested, flexible, and cost-effective network operating system for modern enterprise environments.
✅ It’s no longer just for hyperscalers
✅ Deployment tools and community support are widely available
✅ Real-world savings and architectural flexibility are being realized
✅ The open-source momentum behind SONiC continues to accelerate
As enterprises re-evaluate their networking strategies for the AI era, SONiC is emerging as a critical component of scalable, open, and future-ready architectures.
