UPDATED 13:54 EDT / APRIL 06 2017

INFRA

Can Linux OpenSwitch Project help startups get network 5G ready?

The network bottleneck needs all the tech talent startups can throw at it. The Linux Foundation’s OpenSwitch Project wants to remove lower-stack roadblocks that might stifle their innovation.

“We’re seeing startups come in and do really, really interesting things really, really well,” said Drew Schulke (pictured), vice president of converged networking at Dell EMC.

However, they could do more in less time if the foundation of their work were provided in advance, he added. To this end, Dell contributed the base operating system for the OpenSwitch Project.

“We’ve worked on something called OS10 — we have an open edition of it that you can go out to the web and download for free today,” Schulke told host Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick) and guest host Scott Raynovich (@rayno) of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio, during the Open Networking Summit in Santa Clara, California.

OpenSwitch’s goal is to create a model where startups don’t have to develop their own operating system, hardware and management tools. “Let them focus on what they’re good at, which is a certain piece of IP,” Schulke said.

Countdown to 5G

One major network problem that these startups, OpenSwitch and all those with a stake in 5G must solve is the decoupling of function from location, Schulke explained.

“If 5G gets here and you haven’t kind of decoupled function and location yet in terms of infrastructure or strategy, that’s going to be a tough one,” he stated.

Mobile carriers and telecom companies are currently attempting to do this with Network Functions Virtualization, he said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Open Networking Summit.

Photo: SiliconANGLE

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