Blog Archives

Sep 19

Event Summary: DENT at DORS/CLUC 2024

By DENT Announcements, Blog

DENT at DORS/CLUC: Future-Proofing Networking with Open Source Solutions

DENT had the opportunity to serve as a Silver Sponsor of DORS/CLUC 2024, Croatia’s largest and longest-running open source conference, first held in 1994. This marked a milestone as the first time a Linux Foundation project was showcased in this region of Europe! The event was held on May 16–17, 2024.

Bruno Banelli of DENT member Sartura proudly represented DENT. Bruno’s presentation, “Open Source Networking — Future Proofing Traditional Networking Stack” provided a comprehensive overview of both DENT and The Linux Foundation while explaining how open source technologies can future-proof networking infrastructures.

DENT’s sponsorship highlighted the growing influence of open source networking in transforming traditional systems.

DORS/CLUC, which stands for Dani otvorenih računarskih sustava / Croatian Linux Users’ Conference, has been a premier event in the free and open source software (FOSS) community for nearly 30 years. DORS/CLUC has earned the reputation of bringing together a diverse crowd, from students and developers to corporate representatives and government agencies. The two-day event offered a mix of keynotes, talks, and workshops on free software, open standards, and Linux-based solutions.

DENT’s presence underscored the importance of collaboration across organizations of all sizes. Bruno emphasized the value of The Linux Foundation, which serves as the bridge connecting organizations of all shapes and sizes committed to shared goals driven by shared passion. Bruno then dove into an overview of DENT to a previously unfamiliar audience, explaining DENT exists to address long-standing challenges in traditional networking.

Key Takeaways from Bruno’s Presentation:

In his session, Bruno provided an in-depth look at DENT and its role in reshaping networking through open source collaboration. Key learnings from his session include…

Addressing Traditional Networking Challenges: Bruno highlighted the limitations of traditional networking systems which are often closed due to the dominance of system-on-chip (SoC) vendors. DENT’s approach disaggregates hardware and software, offering vendor-agnostic flexibility and openness.
The Linux Foundation’s Role: He emphasized the value of the Linux Foundation in guiding open source projects like DENT, helping them overcome vendor lock-in and driving community-driven innovation.
Real-World Use Case: Amazon’s Retail Stores: Bruno emphasized Amazon’s deployment of “Just Walk Out” technology in its stores as an example of DENT’s scalability and cost-effectiveness in retail.

Watch Bruno’s entire DORS/CLUC presentation on YouTube:

What’s Next for DENT?

DENT 4.0 and beyond is focused on expanding DENT’s enterprise capabilities. The upcoming DENT 4.0 release will introduce key features like multicast routing, PoE kernel integration, and support for open config. DENT will also transition to Debian 12, bringing enhanced performance and stability to its infrastructure.

As we look ahead to DENT 4.0 and beyond, DENT continues to evolve, offering scalable, open solutions for end users.

Sep 17

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Event Summary: DENT at KubeCon + Cloud Native Con + Open Source Summit + AI_dev 2024

By DENT Announcements, Blog

DENT recently served as a Silver Sponsor of Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s (CNCF) flagship event, KubeCon + Cloud Native Con + Open Source Summit + AI_dev 2024, held in Hong Kong. This was a unique opportunity for the DENT community to engage with some of the brightest minds and leading technologists in the open source and cloud native ecosystem. KubeCon is a nexus for open source developers, AI/ML specialists, and community leaders to collaborate and exchange ideas that will shape the future of open source technologies.

DENT’s onsite presence included project staff and expert representatives from Edgecore Networks and Keysight Technologies. DENT joined the diverse open source ecosystem as an exhibitor, engaging with the community and offering switch demonstrations, courtesy of Edgecore Networks.

Attendees were able to explore DENT’s mission and the exciting technological advancements we’re spearheading. DENT is grateful for the opportunity to showcase its vendor-ready NOS offerings to a primarily Asia Pacific demographic that may have been unfamiliar with DENT and our mission. DENT cherishes any opportunity to demonstrate the value of disaggregated enterprise networks and share a glimpse into the future of DENT 4.0.

The team also highlighted the innovative use of virtualization with the SAI virtual switch in DentOS, proving how DENT enables streamlined development and testing without the need for physical hardware. This solution is paving the way for enhanced flexibility and efficiency in networking, allowing developers and enterprises to simulate complex environments in a virtualized space.

What’s Next?

As we reflect on KubeCon 2024, we are excited to advance our work fostering collaboration across diverse sectors. DENT’s participation in this event reaffirms our commitment to driving the future of open networking and empowering developers and enterprises alike with cutting-edge solutions.

Stay tuned for more updates, and be sure to check out our upcoming events. OCP Global + NRF Big Show: https://dent.dev/event/

Jul 25

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DENT Member Spotlight: Keysight Technologies

By DENT Blog, Community News

This is the third blog in a series of posts highlighting members of the DENT Project. We continue with a spotlight on Keysight Technologies, as explained by Dean Lee, Senior Director of the Cloud Industry Solution Team at Keysight.

Please tell us a little about your organization:

We are the Network Test Solutions group within the Keysight organization. Our team builds Ethernet traffic generators and protocol emulators for the networking industry to validate the LAN, WAN and data centers deployed in enterprises, service providers and hyperscalers around the globe.

Why is your organization adopting a Network Operating System (NOS)?

We believe that the open architecture and collaboration among end users, ASIC, switches and test equipment vendors could truly benefit the networking industry and accelerate innovations.

Why did you join DENT, and what impact do you think DENT has on Network Operating Systems?

DENT, as an open source community, fully leverages the wide adoption of Linux into networking operating systems. Keysight has been a proponent of Open NOS and Open Traffic Generator. DENT aligns with our core competency and beliefs.

What do you see as the top benefits of being part of the DENT community?

Keysight has great opportunities to work with industry leaders in network architecture, ASIC and switch designs. We can collaborate and enhance our test capabilities with the DENT community.

What sort of contributions has your team made (or plans to make) to the DENT community?

Keysight provides expertise and test equipment in validating data centers deployed with DENT NOS. We also manage and house the community test lab, which provides the test pipeline for DENT NOS CI/CD.

What sets DENT apart from other industry alliances?

DENT is flexible and also specializes in retail, enterprise and campus networking. It covers the area not serviced by SONiC. Since it is a true Linux-based NOS, the deployment and management can be easily handled just like a Linux server.

How will DENT help your business?

We can leverage the test cases contributed by community members and share them with more Keysight test solution users.

What advice would you give to someone considering joining DENT?

DENT is the NOS for any applications outside core data centers. It is easy to deploy and adopt. Keysight provides a community test lab to assist PoC and vendor validation as a service. The onboarding of new use cases is easy with community support.

Keysight DENT Representatives:

Dean Lee, Senior Director, Cloud Industry Solution Team

Manodipto Ghose, Product Manager

Jul 18

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Linux Support for PoE Funded by DENT

By DENT Blog, Community News, News

DENT has made significant strides in enhancing the upstream Linux Kernel to function as NoS without additional overheads for retail-edge use cases. A critical feature for these edge scenarios is Power over Ethernet (PoE). In this blog post, we will explore DENT’s contributions by examining past, present, and future PoE support in the upstream Linux Kernel.

Past Developments:

Previously, the Linux kernel offered no support for PoE technologies. Hardware vendors frequently provided non-universal, user-space solutions resulting in fragmented and inconsistent implementations. DENT recognized the need for evolution and began developing a standardized solution integrated within the Linux kernel.

In 2022, a major milestone was reached when a Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) subsystem was added to the Linux kernel. However, this subsystem was only capable of supporting a related technology called Power over Data-Lines (PoDL). Learning and building from this achievement, DENT focused on implementing total PoE support.

Ongoing Developments:

DENT member Bootlin has spearheaded the development of DENT’s upstreaming efforts. Our initial goal was to bring basic PoE support, focusing on basic features like enabling and disabling power and achieving port status. This successful effort resulted in the development and upstreaming of drivers for two different PoE controllers: Microchip PD692x0 and TI TPS23881.

Bootlin’s Köry Maincent (Embedded Linux and Kernel Engineer) played a critical role in this development, spanning nine iterations from November 2023 to April 2024. The culmination of this work will be seen in the Linux 6.10 release, marking a significant achievement for DENT and the broader Linux community.

For more information on Maincent’s remarkable work, watch his presentation from Embedded Open Source Summit 2024.

Following the initial support, DENT immediately began working on the next set of features, including enhanced status information like consumed power, negotiated class and extended state reports, as well as the option to read and configure PoE port power limits. This work, developed through six iterations, has been merged and is set to be included in Linux 6.11.

What’s Next:

Looking ahead, DENT has ambitious plans for PoE. Next steps include:

Supporting port priority to manage power allocation when existing, available power is insufficient.
Implementing the PD62x0 persistent configuration mechanism for custom configurations across reboots.
Modifying the POED project to use the new standard Linux interface for PoE instead of user-space drivers.

DENT is committed to further enhancing PoE support within the Linux kernel. Stay tuned as DENT continues to build a brighter future for open source PoE.

For more information on Bootlin’s PoE work, read its recent PoE blog: https://bootlin.com/blog/power-over-ethernet-poe-support-into-the-official-linux-kernel/

Check out upcoming events where DENT will be present: https://dent.dev/event/

May 15

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Event Summary: DENT at ONE Summit 2024

By DENT Announcements, Blog

The Linux Foundation hosted ONE Summit 2024 in San Jose, CA from April 29–May 1, 2024. ONE Summit is the ONE industry event to focus on best practices, technical challenges and business opportunities facing network decision-makers from Access to Edge to Cloud. Whether deploying a 5G network, building government infrastructure, or using automation and networking to transform your business, this collaborative environment enabled interaction with peers to learn about the open source networking technologies that will transform the industry.

DENT sponsored ONE Summit 2024, allowing the DENT community to interact with the broader open source networking community. DENT hosted a booth staffed by representatives from Amazon, Keysight, PLVision, Sartura, and The Linux Foundation. Attendees learned about DENT’s mission, community presence, components, benefits, role as an embedded operating system, deployed DENT platforms, DentOS v3 Cynthia, DentOS v4 and beyond.

Further, the DENT Community presented two sessions at the event. Taskin Ucpinar, Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon, discussed DENT’s Features Roadmap for Disaggregated Enterprise Networks. Ucpinar explained how the DENT community envisions unifying the community of Silicon Vendors, ODMs, SI, and OEMs to provide and enhance Distributed Enterprise Edge functionality, enable wider adaptation of disaggregated enterprise networks, and cover expanded use cases.

Then, Taras Choryni, PLVision’s Director of Open Networking Solutions and Strategy, spoke about the SAI Virtual Switch in DentOS. In his presentation, Chornyi explained the experience of using the SONiC SAI Virtual Switch in DentOS. Throughout the development and testing phases of NOS, DENT leverages virtualization to simulate a streamlined yet authentic data center switch environment. This approach allows comprehensive testing of the control plane applications without the need for physical hardware. By enabling the virtual switch, users gain the power to emulate multiple switches in complex networking setups in virtual environments. This offers businesses the flexibility to streamline their development and testing even before a fully deployed physical device is available.

Videos of both sessions will be available soon.

Check out upcoming events where DENT will be present: https://dent.dev/event/

Taras Chornyi, PLVision’s Director of Open Networking Solutions and Strategy, presents during one of DENT’s speaking sessions at ONE Summit on May 1, 2024.

May 09

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Event Summary: DENT at 2024 OCP Regional Summit

By DENT Announcements, Blog

The Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation is a growing, global community whose mission is to design, use and enable mainstream delivery of the most efficient designs for scalable computing. OCP is rooted in the belief that openly sharing ideas, specifications and other intellectual property is the key to maximizing innovation and reducing complexity in tech components, a belief shared by DENT.

DENT participated as an Open Source Partner at the 2024 OCP Regional Summit held in Lisbon, Portugal between April 24-25. The Summit served as a platform where technical and business leaders from EMEA united to address critical issues related to data center sustainability, energy efficiency and heat reuse.

OCP’s annual regional summit explores how innovations from hyperscale data center operators can contribute to solving these challenges. The annual summit also showcases deployments of specific OCP-recognized data center equipment in the EMEA region.

The key areas of emphasis for 2024 included Data Center Sustainability, AI, Security and Data Protection, Power and Cooling, and Deployments. Additionally, participants learned how innovations within the OCP Community are pivotal in developing and implementing a sustainable and scalable computational infrastructure for the future.

DENT representatives from Amazon and Luxoft volunteered at the DENT booth, interacting with attendees and diving into DENT’s ethos and use cases.

DENT’s presence grew project awareness and educated attendees on DENT’s role in the open source community, promoting DENT as a network operating system, control plane and management plane.

In total, there were 725 attendees, 41 sponsors and 25 Expo Hall booths from 315 organizations and 33 countries at the event, providing a great opportunity to introduce DENT to a new audience.

DENT sincerely thanks those who attended the 2024 OCP Regional Summit in Lisbon. DENT looks forward to the 2024 OCP Global Summit held in San Jose, CA from October 15–17.

Check out upcoming events where DENT will be present: https://dent.dev/event/

Attendees watch a keynote presentation on April 24, 2024.

Apr 23

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DENT Member Spotlight: Edgecore Networks

By DENT Blog, Community News

This is the second in a series of posts highlighting members of the DENT Project. We continue with a spotlight on Edgecore Networks, as explained by Edgecore Networks’ Head of Engineering Larry Ho.

Please tell us a little about your organization:
Back in 2020 when Edgecore joined DENT as a founding member, we were convinced that open source NOS, like dentOS, can play a key role in the next-generation technologies of open networking. Obviously, we still are as of today. A key component of Edgecore’s solution is an open source NOS.

Why did you join DENT, and what impact do you think DENT has on Network Operating Systems?
When Edgecore joined DENT, it was the only open source NOS that was architected and designed for enterprise edge and retail. Today, it remains the only NOS that is dedicated to this space.

What do you see as the top benefits of being part of the DENT community?
Since 2021, there has been growing interest by operators in enterprise edge and retail domains to deploy Open Source software. DENT is a proven technology in deploying to retail stores. Its community plays a pivotal role in ramping up DENT and its related technologies. It also serves as the messenger to educate operators who may be interested in DENT.

What sort of contributions has your team made (or plans to make) to the DENT community?
Edgecore started as a switch hardware contributor. While we plan to continue contributions in this area, we also participated in DENT’s test subgroup to help solidify DENT’s community development and testing infrastructures and processes. Edgecore was also instrumental in supporting DENT to adopt SAI in 2022. If and when DENT adopts switch hardware based on Broadcom’s silicon, we will look at opportunities for SAI contributions.

What sets DENT apart from other industry alliances?
DENT is now a 4+ years open source project. It is still gathering participation and interest. During this journey, DENT has shown its willingness to adjust from its original purely switchdev base architecture to include a SAI base architecture. In Edgecore’s view, SAI will increase the choices of silicon and switching platforms available which is key to DENT’s ultimate goal: broad commercial deployment.

How will DENT help your business?
A key element of Edgecore’s solution is open source NOS.

What advice would you give to someone considering joining DENT?
Like any open source community, there are several key factors to ensure its success. One is broad deployment in commercial environment: adoption; The other is continuous evolution of its technologies with contributions from broad segments of the community. There are actually more factors. Joining DENT implies you are preparing to help in one or more of these factors.

Edgecore Networks DENT Representatives:

Nanda Ravindran, Vice President of Product Management

William Chiang, Project Software Manager

Apr 18

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2023 OCP DENT Mini Summit Part 10: DENT BoF

By DENT Blog, Community News

This blog post is the tenth in a series of 10 summarizing the sessions from the OCP DENT Mini Summit. Please see previous posts here:

Part 1: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/19/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-1-leading-the-evolution-of-nos/

Part 2: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/21/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-2-introduction-to-dent/

Part 3: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/26/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-series-part-3-vision-of-dent/

Part 4: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/28/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-4-dent-features-roadmap/

Part 5: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/02/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-5-the-whats-done-and-whats-new-in-dent-streaming-activities/

Part 6: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-6-switch-abstraction-interface-sai-testing-in-dent/

Part 7: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-7-dent-workshop/

Part 8: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/11/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-8-open-source-poe-and-dent/

Part 9: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/16/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-9-best-practices-to-integrate-dent-community-test-cases-into-ci-pipeline/

The DENT community hosted a Mini Summit during the OCP Global Summit to gather industry leaders, engineers, developers, and stakeholders interested in DENT within the framework of the OCP.

The final session of the 2023 OCP DENT Mini Summit featured a roundtable discussion from the following figures:

Jan Klare: Senior Solutions Architect at BISDN

Larry Ho: Chairman; Head of Engineering at Edge-Core Networks

Sandeep Nagaraja: Principal Engineer at Amazon

Taras Chornyi: Director of Open Networking Solutions and Strategy at PLVision

Manodipto Ghose: Product Manager at Keysight

In the dynamic world of networking, DENT stands out as a pivotal force, driving discussions toward collaborative innovation and future readiness. The recent Panel: DENT Birds of a Feather (BoF) session shed light on DENT’s trajectory, emphasizing its role in shaping the digital landscape.

The dialogue revolved around collaboration, particularly between DENT and Sonic. There’s a growing consensus on the potential merger of these platforms, with DENT possibly running as a container within Sonic. This integration promises seamless interoperability and efficiency, propelling DENT toward broader adoption.

A key focus for DENT is its evolution toward the Enterprise Edge. Panelists stressed the importance of imbuing DENT with enterprise-grade features, expanding its utility beyond traditional networking realms. From PoE to straight-through processing (STP), DENT aims to integrate seamlessly with Enterprise infrastructure, fostering innovation and operational excellence.

Looking ahead to 2024, DENT embarks on a journey toward innovating compute products and exploring technologies. This diversification signifies DENT’s commitment to staying at the forefront of networking and computing convergence.

Despite challenges in infrastructure for medium-sized campus deployments, DENT remains resilient. Through strategic collaborations and technological advancements, DENT aims to overcome these hurdles, reinforcing its position as a leader in the networking landscape.

Central to DENT’s evolution is community-driven innovation. Stakeholders are encouraged to actively participate in DENT’s journey, shaping its trajectory and contributing to its success.

In conclusion, DENT emerges as a guiding force in the ever-evolving world of networking. By embracing collaboration, diversification, and community-driven innovation, DENT charts a course toward a future where networking knows no boundaries, empowering organizations to navigate the digital age with confidence.

Apr 16

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2023 OCP DENT Mini Summit Part 9: Best Practices to Integrate DENT Community Test Cases Into CI Pipeline

By DENT Blog, Community News

This blog post is the ninth in a series of 10 summarizing the sessions from the OCP DENT Mini Summit. Please see previous posts here:

Part 1: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/19/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-1-leading-the-evolution-of-nos/

Part 2: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/21/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-2-introduction-to-dent/

Part 3: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/26/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-series-part-3-vision-of-dent/

Part 4: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/28/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-4-dent-features-roadmap/(opens in a new tab)

Part 5: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/02/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-5-the-whats-done-and-whats-new-in-dent-streaming-activities/

Part 6: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-6-switch-abstraction-interface-sai-testing-in-dent/

Part 7: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-7-dent-workshop/

Part 8: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/11/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-8-open-source-poe-and-dent/

The DENT community hosted a Mini Summit during the OCP Global Summit to gather industry leaders, engineers, developers, and stakeholders interested in DENT within the framework of the OCP.

Keysight Director Mircea Dan Gheorghe, Keysight Product Manager Manodipto Ghose, and Amazon Senior Software Engineer Chetan Murthy educated attendees on how to deploy the DENT community test bed in a virtualized setting. By leveraging virtualized test ports and DENT NOS, users can easily recreate real-world networking scenarios in a streamlined manner.

The deployment process is designed to be user-friendly, catering to both newcomers and experienced contributors. With a focus on accessibility and ease of setup, the virtualized test environment democratizes testing and accelerates innovation within the DENT community.

Comprehensive test coverage and seamless integration with CI pipelines enhance efficiency and facilitate rapid iteration and deployment of DENT solutions. By embracing standardized testing practices, the DENT ecosystem promotes interoperability and reliability, driving greater adoption of DENT technology.

In summary, the deployment of the DENT community test bed in a fully virtualized environment marks a significant milestone in the evolution of DENT technology. As the DENT community continues to innovate and collaborate, the future looks promising for dynamic edge networking.

Apr 11

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2023 OCP DENT Mini Summit Part 8: Open Source PoE and DENT

By DENT Blog, Community News

This blog post is the eighth in a series of 10 summarizing the sessions from the OCP DENT Mini Summit. Please see previous posts here:

Part 1: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/19/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-1-leading-the-evolution-of-nos/

Part 2: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/21/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-2-introduction-to-dent/

Part 3: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/26/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-series-part-3-vision-of-dent/

Part 4: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/28/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-4-dent-features-roadmap

Part 5: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/04/02/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-5-the-whats-done-and-whats-new-in-dent-streaming-activities/

Part 6: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-6-switch-abstraction-interface-sai-testing-in-dent/

Part 7: https://dent.dev/blog/2024/03/18/2023-ocp-dent-mini-summit-part-7-dent-workshop/

The DENT community hosted a Mini Summit during the OCP Global Summit to gather industry leaders, engineers, developers, and stakeholders interested in DENT within the framework of the OCP.

Amazon’s Carl Roth, a Senior Software Engineer, explained how in today’s enterprise networking landscape, the absence of a comprehensive open source Power over Ethernet (PoE) tool has hindered innovation and flexibility. Without a unified solution, network administrators have grappled with fragmented approaches to PoE management, often relying on proprietary software with limited functionalities.

Commitment to open-source ethos has culminated in the development of a PoE tool integrated seamlessly within DENT, its enterprise NOS. This solution not only caters to diverse PoE standards but also introduces support for Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)-based negotiation, enhancing precision and efficiency in power allocation.

Roth offers a comprehensive overview of the software and hardware architecture underpinning Amazon’s PoE tool within DENT. From the implementation of L1 negotiation to the intricacies of L2 negotiation, every aspect has been meticulously crafted to ensure optimal performance and compatibility.

By embracing open-source principles, Amazon has not only addressed a longstanding gap in enterprise networking but also fostered a culture of collaboration and innovation. The availability of Amazon’s PoE tool as part of DENT empowers network administrators to leverage cutting-edge technology while retaining the flexibility and transparency inherent in open-source solutions.

Active community engagement and the prospect of upstreaming the solution underscore Amazon’s commitment to driving progress in the field of network infrastructure.

Through innovation, collaboration, and a steadfast dedication to open-source principles, Amazon has set a precedent for the industry, paving the way for enhanced efficiency, flexibility, and scalability in PoE management.