Best Network Operating Systems (NOS)

CacheGuard-OS transforms a virtual or bare metal machine into a powerful and easy to handle network appliance. It's a Linux based Operating System built from scratch and especially designed to Secure and Optimize the network traffic. Great care has been taken by CacheGuard-OS developers to select the best of the best Open Source technologies to integrate into CacheGuard-OS. The result is a robust and trustworthy solution that can be up and running within minutes. CacheGuard-OS integrates Open Source software such as but not limited to OpenSSL, NetFilter, IProute2, StrongSwan, ClamAV, Apache, ModSecurity, Squid and Open Source developments made by CacheGuard-OS developers.

The HPE HSR6800 Router Series is a family of high-performance, multiservice routers designed for data center interconnection, enterprise WAN core, campus WAN edge, and high-speed WAN aggregation services. It runs the Comware operating system and features an advanced multi-core, distributed service processing hardware architecture that scales up to 420 Mpps forwarding and up to 2 Tbps switching capacity. The router delivers robust routing, multicast, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), IPv6, security, quality of service, carrier-level high-availability features, and high-density 10GbE and 1GbE interface options. Fully modular Comware v7 network operating system offers improved performance and system availability. Feature enhancements including ADVPN, IRF2, EVI, EAA, and ISSU. FIP-240 doubles FIP-210 forwarding performance, up to 4 HIM/MIM slots. Line cards offer 1GbE combo/10bGE ports, and increased IPsec performance. RT-HIM-2EXP doubles HIM 10GbE port density and supports SFP+.

Democratizing how we access networks through a universal router and open source software. Our vision at VyOS is to dramatically change how we access networks so that we can all build the solutions we always dreamed of, without restrictions, limitations, or prohibitive costs. We fundamentally believe that internet access is as vital to our human development as air, food, water, and healthcare. Built by engineers for engineers, VyOS is an open source software company that democratizes how we access networks so that the many, not the few, benefit from building solutions without limitations and prohibitive fees. We do this as VyOS through our open source software and virtual platforms. Stateful firewalls, zone-based firewall, all types of source and destination NAT (one to one, one to many, many to many). The entire codebase and build toolchain are available to everyone for auditing, building customized images and contributing.

FreeBSD offers advanced networking, performance, security and compatibility features today which are still missing in other operating systems, even some of the best commercial ones. FreeBSD makes an ideal Internet or Intranet server. It provides robust network services under the heaviest loads and uses memory efficiently to maintain good response times for thousands of simultaneous user processes. FreeBSD brings advanced network operating system features to appliance and embedded platforms, from higher-end Intel-based appliances to ARM, PowerPC, and MIPS hardware platforms. From mail and web appliances to routers, time servers, and wireless access points, vendors around the world rely on FreeBSD’s integrated build and cross-build environments and advanced features as the foundation for their embedded products. And the Berkeley open source license lets them decide how many of their local changes they want to contribute back.

NVIDIA offers pure SONiC, a community-developed, open-source, Linux-based network operating system that has been hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud service providers. Pure SONiC through NVIDIA removes distribution limitations and lets enterprises take full advantage of the benefits of open networking—as well as the NVIDIA expertise, experience, training, documentation, professional services, and support that best guarantee success. NVIDIA provides support for Free Range Routing (FRR), SONiC, Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI), systems, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC)—all in one place. Unlike a distribution, SONiC doesn’t require reliance upon a single vendor for roadmap additions, bug fixes, or security patches. With SONiC, you can achieve unified management with existing management tools across the data center.

Junos® OS automates network operations with streamlined precision, furthers operational efficiency, and frees up valuable time and resources for top-line growth opportunities. Built for reliability, security, and flexibility, Junos OS runs many of the world’s most sophisticated network deployments, giving operators an advantage over those who run competing network operating systems. Reduces the time and effort required to plan, deploy, and operate network infrastructure. Extends traditional disaggregation by creating a flexible consumption model for network applications and provides a highly scalable software that keeps pace with evolving requirements. Makes the insertion of line cards and the subsequent network OS upgrade a non-service impacting event. Cloud providers understand that operating a flexible, cost-effective network requires simplified operations across a highly scalable infrastructure.

Moving to Open Networking bare metal switches brings significant operational and financial benefits to build next-generation networks. These switches provide the capacity needed to achieve cloud-scale, agility, elasticity, and adaptability. As you move to a disaggregated open networking strategy, selecting the right Network Operating System (OS) is a critical success factor. Why? The Network OS deployed unlocks the performance, functionality, and services from Open Networking switches to realize the most value. Netvisor® ONE is an open, secure, and programable next-generation Network OS that is purpose-built to optimize the power and performance of bare metal Open Networking hardware. Deployment-proven in production mission-critical enterprise and carrier networks, Netvisor ONE operating system meets the most stringent performance requirements and delivers the maximum levels of reliability and flexibility at scale, and without compromise.

Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS®) is the core of Arista cloud networking solutions for next-generation data centers and cloud networks. Cloud architectures built with Arista EOS scale to hundreds of thousands of compute and storage nodes with management and provisioning capabilities that work at scale. Through its programmability, EOS enables a set of software applications that deliver workflow automation, high availability, unprecedented network visibility and analytics and rapid integration with a wide range of third-party applications for virtualization, management, automation and orchestration services. Arista EOS is a fully programmable and highly modular, Linux-based network operation system, using familiar industry standard CLI and runs a single binary software image across the Arista switching family.

OcNOS is a robust, programmable and innovative operating system, featuring a single software image that runs across the entire portfolio of Open Compute platforms from leading network device vendors. This guarantees consistent operations, workflow automation and high availability, while significantly reducing operational expenses. OcNOS borrows heavily from the popular ZebOS line of products, which provides a rich feature density and robustness that has been built up over the years and validated in thousands of diverse customer networks. OcNOS provides industry standard CLI, supports all standard MIBs and other standard operation and management tools. Its integrated centralized management and provisioning layer allows for transaction-based configuration and device feature modelling. The management layer has support for Netconf, REST APIs besides custom CLI generation capability. This allows an OcNOS system to be configured, managed and controlled by Network Management System.

The one-of-a-kind PICOS open NOS with tightly coupled control planes gives network operators surgical, non-disruptive control of their enterprise applications, deep and dynamic traffic monitoring, and even attack mitigation, all in real time. There’s no better way to implement zero-trust networking and software-defined perimeters than PICOS. Our flagship open network operating system installs on 1G- to 100G-interface open switches from a broad array of Tier 1 manufacturers. This fully featured license offers the most comprehensive support for enterprise features on the market. It includes the Debian Linux distribution, with an unmodified kernel for maximum DevOps programmability. Enterprise Edition also includes AmpCon, an Ansible-based automation framework that couples Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) with the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) to simplify installation and operation of open network switches across the enterprise.

Hyperscale networking software engineered for the distributed 5G wave, from the data center to the core to edge to multi-cloud, delivers massive scale and ultra-fast convergence. Integrated monitoring and analytics engine offers deep network visibility and real-time intelligence along with predictive analytics and actionable insights. Run ACE on your existing infrastructure, deploy from anywhere, and reduce your operating expenses with faster onboarding and higher reliability. Fully compliant with open standards and allows network operators to seamlessly integrate with 3rd-party automation and orchestration tools. ACE platform offers a three-layer stack with a flexible, scalable architecture to interconnect enterprise data centers and service/cloud provider infrastructure. The industry's first internet-scale, independent network operating system. Scale-out route reflector with industry-leading convergence times. Actionable real-time intelligence for your network.

NVIDIA® Onyx® delivers a new level of flexibility and scalability to next-generation data centers. Onyx has tight turnkey integrations with popular hyperconverged and software-defined storage solutions. With its robust layer-3 protocol stack, built-in monitoring and visibility tools, and high-availability mechanisms, Onyx is an ideal network operating system for enterprise and cloud data centers. Run your custom containerized applications side by side with NVIDIA Onyx. Eliminate the need for one-off servers and seamlessly shrinkwrap solutions into the networking infrastructure. Strong integration with popular hyper-converged infrastructure and software-defined storage solutions. Classic network operating system with a traditional command-line interface (CLI) Single-line command to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot remote direct-memory access over converged Ethernet (RoCE) Support for containerized applications with complete access to the software development kit (SDK).

Cisco NX-OS is a robust data center operating system engineered to enhance network agility, scalability, and security. It offers a flexible architecture that supports technologies like Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) with Ethernet VPN (EVPN), enabling seamless scalability and efficient traffic management. The system simplifies network operations through accelerated provisioning and comprehensive management facilitated by the Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC), complemented by open APIs for streamlined automation. Security is bolstered with end-to-end network segmentation and encryption protocols, including MACsec and RADsec, ensuring data integrity and protection. Additionally, Cisco NX-OS is optimized for high-performance tasks such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, featuring non-blocking networks and ultra-low latency switches to effectively handle demanding workloads.

DANOS-Vyatta edition NOS is aligned with Open Compute Project in delivering a cell site gateway router (CSGR) use case. As mobile service providers make the transition from legacy technologies toward 5G RAN technologies, the CSGR is designed to address the changing needs of operator’s backhaul transport requirements. Based on the DANOS open source software, DANOS-Vyatta edition is a production-ready, carrier grade, feature-rich network operating system (NOS) that meets the demand for functionality and reliability required in the carrier environment. Highlights of DANOS-Vyatta edition The NOS architecture is designed for abstractions with clean APIs between the layers for development agility, troubleshooting and ease of supporting multiple white boxes. The application layer encompasses all the routing and supporting processes along with the standard APIs and familiar CLI interface for operators and management, automation, orchestration systems to interact with the NOS.

PTX Series Routers form the foundation of the world’s largest core and peering architectures. Powered by the latest generation of Juniper’s custom Express family ASICs, they’re cloud-optimized to enable smooth 400G migrations. They simultaneously deliver the scale, flexibility, and investment protection needed to meet today’s market needs. The routers offer native 400G inline MACsec, flexible filtering, and a reliable network operating system that has been powering generations of high-performance solutions. Discover what 100G and 400G mass scale in the cloud can offer with PTX routing. The modular PTX10004, PTX10008, and PTX10016 Packet Transport Routers directly address the massive bandwidth demands being placed on networks. They bring ultra-high port density, native 400GbE in-line MACsec, and latest-generation ASIC investment to the most demanding WAN and data center architectures.

A simple, modern, and trustworthy network operating system. Simplify network operations with the new modernized Cisco IOS XR Software. Greater modularity, a simplified networking stack, and cloud-enhanced automation make network programming easy. Unleash your team's potential with better insights, improved performance, and boosted security—so you can spend less time troubleshooting and more time meeting business goals. IOS XR uses less memory, boots faster, and works well with a core or access-level device—all part of a modular design. Let your engineers focus on revenue-generating tasks and streamline their work with a single operating system across the network. Prevent compromises to hardware and firmware with advanced security features. Protect against malicious actors and bugs with a signing technology and multiple runtime defenses, including Integrated Measurement Architecture (IMA).

Cisco IOS XE is a versatile, modern, and modular operating system designed to power Cisco's enterprise networking products, including routers, switches, and wireless controllers. Built on a Linux-based architecture, IOS XE offers advanced programmability, scalability, and security to support dynamic network environments. It provides rich features like automation through APIs, application hosting, and support for software-defined networking (SDN), enabling organizations to adapt quickly to evolving technological demands. With its support for virtualization and multi-core processing, IOS XE ensures high performance and reliability while simplifying management through intuitive tools and centralized control. This makes it an ideal choice for enterprises seeking robust, future-ready network solutions.

NCS 5700 line cards and routers bring scalability and flexibility to provider networks. Integrated Segment Routing supports performance-based service offerings and high-density 400G ports provide long-term network growth. Scale with demand with flexible port configurations from 10G to 400G and available 3.6, 4.8, 7.2 or 9.6 Tbps per slot line cards. Converge all services onto a single infrastructure and use Segment Routing for end-to-end granular traffic control that delivers the best client experience. With backward compatibility, a flexible pay-as-you-grow model, and IOS XR throughout the network, this platform offers long-term growth that scales with demand and protects investment. Power efficiency and scalability with a carrier-grade network operating system to rightsize the network footprint and lower your carbon impact.