What is Open Network Linux?

Open Network Linux is an OCP supported Network Operating System initially developed by BigSwitch Networks. It provides an OS including drivers for the supported Switch ASICs, but no forwarding agents are included. It uses ONIE for installation on the devices. As stated on their Webpage:

Open Network Linux is a Linux distribution for "bare metal" switches, that is, network forwarding devices built from commodity components. ONL uses ONIE to install onto on-board flash memory. Open Network Linux is a part of the Open Compute Project and is a component in a growing collection of open source and commercial projects.

After installing ONL, you can then install a broad range of existing forwarding agents, or develop your own. Examples for supported forwarding agents are:

• Quagga
• BIRD
• Facebook FBOSS and
• Azure SONiC

The supported chipset APIs include:

• OF-DPA
• OpenNSL
• SAI

Not every API is supported on every Hardware platform. For specific you can consult the HCL (Hardware Compatibility List) found here.