Serro Solutions, a San Francisco-based technology services firm, has made its new SDN framework Open Source. Automated Service Manager, or AuSM, is aimed at connecting network tools via API. AuSM creates a single platform from which users can write unified business policies and implement them consistently across data center networks, WANs and storage systems.
The company says that the new open source SDN framework integrates network hardware and software resources into a single interface -- offering greater network oversight and control and simplifying SDN deployments. According to Serro, AuSM also boosts overall network performance -- increasing uptime, decreasing costs and improving flexibility.
The SDN framework's business policy writing capabilities allow users to create custom settings for their networks, automating changes based on data analytics and business intelligence. Serro is also designed to gather real-time information about events in the network, suggesting adjustments as necessary.
"We've already deployed AuSM selectively in a few projects, notably with security firm Nexusguard, and are now offering it as a free open source tool," Ed Lombera, vice president of engineering at Serro, said in a statement. "We've put quite a bit of development into this tool, continuously improving with each deployment."
Lombera said that Serro will offer customization and support services to users of the SDN framework.
The SDN framework has business policy writing capabilities designed to create custom settings for a given business and cross over with analytics and business intelligence.
Lee Doyle, principal analyst at Doyle Research, said Serro's AuSM is just one of dozens of SDN frameworks on the market. He sees the company as a new arrival and a relatively small player, at least for now. He noted that many other frameworks are also open source, including offerings from vendors such as Cisco and VMware, and open source standards like ONOS and OpenDaylight.
Doyle said that by offering AuSM as an open source SDN framework, Serro is likely trying to maximize market exposure and increase user adoption.
"It's a way to extend what any individual supplier wants to do," he said.
