DriveNets Total

Cost of Ownership
A New Approach to Evaluating
Networking Solutions

WHITE PAPER
DriveNets Network Cloud TCO
Today service providers can start to build networks like cloud. This means moving away from a vendor specific, single-service
router model to a model of an agile, shared network resources. Applying cloud architecture principles includes the separation
(disaggregation) of software and hardware, using standard white boxes, applying virtualization and having the ability to run
multiple applications over a shared pool of resources. All of which aims to lower infrastructure costs and accelerate innovation.

Lower cost per port Lower upfront investments

40% 80%
reduction in the number of less racks space compared
onsite intra-chassis links to chassis-based routers
(Customer reference)

The Distributed, Disaggregated Chassis (DCC), as proposed by the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and deployed in AT&T’s core
network, is an open, standard and field-proven solution leveraging network cloud architecture. The table below highlights
the key TCO parameters in comparison to a traditional chassis-based router:

Traditional Chassis-based Router Distributed Disaggregated Router (e.g. DDC)

• Single-service-router chassis-based, • Multiservice on the same platform – Network

monolithic software Cloud consolidates multiple network functions
Router
• A hefty premium in charges • Disaggregated low-cost standard networking
Cost
white boxes from a choice of vendors, and a cost-
effective software licensing model
CapEx

• Scale-up • Scale-out (like cloud)

• High upfront investments
Effective • Limited chassis upgrade choices:
Scale o Upgrade to a bigger chassis
o Move to Clos topology (+ OpEx cost of
swapping out devices)
• Pay as you grow incremental growth model
• ‘Unlimited’ expansion flexibility - Incremental
horizontal scaling

• Service specific resources - Separate • Resource sharing - Cloud-native software enables

infrastructure for different networks and different networks and services to run in separate
Resource services, with minimal resource sharing containers over a shared physical infrastructure
Utilization • Underutilized slots - partially populated • “You pull what you use” – high resource utilization
chassis • Multiple layers of redundancy
• High cost for redundancy
OpEx

• Complex spare parts - Different chassis / • Simplified sparing - Same white box building
cards models and sizes blocks are used for any sized router
• Operational complexity –inconsistency • The same DNOS software suite for all
Ware- of physical infrastructure increases deployments - across single box, small, medium,
house/ operational complexity due to high and large cluster
Inventory hardware variations, software versions
and maintenance procedures. This is
costly, slowing down network evolution and
upgrades

Software and hardware from the same Mix and match vendors – Hardware and software are
Vendor
vendor makes it very difficult to mix and sold independently from different/multiple vendors
lock-in
match vendors
Other

Additional Network Functions (e.g., Firewall,
DDoS, DPI) are added as purpose-built
No-routing
appliances (PNF) or as VNFs over additional
hardware
standard, x86 based servers
Cloud-native software and containers - designed to
scale services. CNF are added, as service instances,
onto existing cluster infrastructure. Additional
containers are added via software, but, in most cases,
no additional hardware is required
Router Cost
DriveNets Network Cloud is more than a routing solution. It uses cloud-native technology (microservices, containers) similar to
the virtualization of the compute space.

An innovative multiservice capability optimizes network resource utilization by providing a unified infrastructure that supports
multiple network functions as software-based services (e.g., enterprise, mobile, broadband). Sharing the physical infrastructure
for multiple services substantially lowers the physical footprint and number of ports, resulting in considerably lower TCO.

When comparing router-to-router (or router-to-cluster, in this case), the comparison needs to consider that the entire Network
Cloud cluster can run as the equivalent to a single router.

Agg. Router

Edge Router

Core Router

Effective Scale
Traditional routers are a monolithic single-vendor hardware and software package deal. Network planners face the unenviable
choice of selecting the right monolithic router for a specific network location. Should you choose a device optimized for the
more immediate capacity requirements and then replace it when traffic and services exceed its capabilities? Or should you
invest in a larger long-term device and suffer the high up-front CapEx and large footprint of a partially populated chassis with
initially underutilized fabrics and backplane?

When a chassis reaches its maximum capacity, it must either be replaced by a bigger chassis (lift & shift) or be concatenated
to an additional chassis in a Clos architecture, which requires allocating ~40% port line cards for intra-site connectivity. The
port line cards are not available for user connectivity and are “sacrificed” to support the new architecture. Both options bring
significant operational challenges and considerably high overall OpEx.

Because the DDC router disaggregates the fabric and packet forwarding elements, user ports are not sacrificed for intra-site
connectivity and therefore, this model delivers much better efficiency per port. The disaggregated router relieves operators
from having to choose between a fully utilized device that meets initial requirements but will not scale and an underutilized
chassis with high up-front CapEx, footprint, and power consumption.

Horizontal Scaling (scale out) of the DDC router is achieved by stacking low-cost white boxes for incremental capacity upgrades.

Scale-up Scale-out

Traditional Disaggregated router

chassis-based router Horizontal scaling
Resource Utilization
Monolithic-chassis based networks are typically built-in silos, where each domain (e.g., VPN, broadband, mobile etc.) has
its own, dedicated hardware resources. These resources cannot be shared or ported across different domains. In the
Network Cloud architecture, however, all hardware resources are abstracted and put into a resource pool that can be
used, dynamically, by any network functions residing in the cluster, hence the overall number of resources required can
be significantly reduced. This is thanks to the synergies between the different services as those require a different set of
hardware resources (i.e., CPU, NPU, TCAM, QoS etc.).

With regards to chassis and fabric utilization - analyzing the utilization of slots, ports and fabric resources in a monolithic
chassis-based network often leads to significant under-utilization. This is because the chassis and fabric are typically procured
on Day-1, while future line-cards usually introduce higher capacity density, resulting in the chassis being blocked before it
is fully populated. The Network Cloud alternative is not bound to the chassis or fabric limitation and grows according to
requirements, as well as available technology, at each stage. This is reflected in power, A/C and floor/rack space calculations.

Warehouse / Inventory
In a chassis-based architecture, different types of hardware are used for different network functions. Routers, appliances,
servers and cards create a long list of part numbers used in the network. This complicates the planning and operations
procedures of the network and also increases the cost of spare parts kept in the service provider warehouses in order to offer
immediate replacement to any mission critical hardware element in the network. The Network Cloud architecture, however, is
built based on a couple of basic building blocks. Those building blocks are common to all types of sites (from a 4Tbps site to
a 768Tbps site) and to all network functions (from routers to firewalls). This makes the cost of spare parts in a network based
on Network Cloud significantly lower than in the chassis-based architecture.

Consistency of physical infrastructure reduces OpEx due to less hardware variations, software versions and maintenance
procedures. As many operations are software based, less site visits are required and operational processes such as
troubleshooting become more efficient, providing higher visibility into the system (e.g., the fabric, which is otherwise a “black
box” and cannot be analyzed).
Vendor Lock-in
Once the standard was for networks to rely on ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit)-based monolithic appliances
that bundled proprietary software into a vendor-locked device and were integrated only with other offerings from that
vendor. Yet, traditional monolithic network element architectures restrict the flexibility for changes, increasing the cost and
complexity of the network. This is especially the case
of traditional IP routers based on closed, proprietary NMS/CLI SDN
hardware, with dependencies on chassis-based
architectures required for scaling - resulting in vendor
lock-in, snail-paced innovation and high costs.

Software
Software

Software
Vendor
(NOS)
Disaggregation is a major threat to the business Monolithic A1, A2, A3...
models and profitability of the leading router vendors. Vendor
Network disaggregation frees operators from vendor- C

Hardware
lock-in, and allows them to rapidly leverage new

Hardware
Hardware Vendor
technologies readily integrated through open APIs (White Box) B1, B2, B3...
and interfaces, swap components and platforms, as
well as vendors to mitigate exposure to disruptions
in the supply chain, and adopt new technologies Traditional Router Hardware/Software
Separation
that may have conflicted with incumbent vendors’
proprietary technologies.

“The identical open hardware...

That is being used for the core will be used for the edge applications.
Common hardware enables consistent maintenance processes and sparing.”
AT&T

Non-Routing Hardware
A typical network architecture includes, other than routers, some non-routing network functions. Those include firewalls, DPI
(Deep Packet Inspection), DDoS mitigation and more. Those functions utilize either purpose-built appliances or standard,
x86 based servers which pose both direct costs (the hardware itself) and indirect costs (e.g., rack space and power). Both
could become significant as the network scales and the amount of traffic that needs to pass through those functions
increases. In the Network Cloud architecture, however, those functions are added, as service instances, onto the existing
cluster infrastructure. Additional containers are added via software, but, in most cases, no additional hardware is required.
The marginal costs here are solely the cost of the software itself.

WAN DDoS
DDoS DPI
Optimization Firewall
DPI
WAN
Optimization Firewall

Standard White-Box
Conclusion
The introduction of DriveNets Network Cloud technology not only transforms the way networks are built, but also
offers huge potential for saving money and increasing revenues - with no hidden costs.
Artificially forced comparisons between cloud-based solutions and legacy chassis-based solutions, are
becoming increasingly irrelevant. The real comparison should be based on network resource efficiency. In a
cloud-based solution, the efficiency and value are based on the abstraction of all hardware resources. This
abstraction increases hardware utilization to a new level of efficiency. In order to realize this potential, a new
approach needs to be taken for TCO evaluations. This needs to take into account the real cost per network
service, not just the cost per network element.

“This is a really big development in the networking eco-system...

This model gives us options and flexibility in our supply chain and enables us to use
best-in-breed products whether they come from established or disruptive suppliers...
The technologies and eco-system have matured.”

Andre Fuetsch
CTO of Network Services, AT&T

Industry Recognition

Research: Whitebox
Company of the Year Product of the Company of the Year Next-Gen routing – a transformative
(private) 2022 Year 2021 (private) 2020 Deployment Wireline disruption

DriveNets is a leader in cloud-native networking software and network disaggregation solutions. Founded in 2015 and based in Israel,
DriveNets offers service providers and cloud providers a radical new way to build networks, substantially growing their profitability by
changing their technological and economic models. DriveNets’ solution – Network Cloud – adapts the architectural model of cloud to
telco-grade networking. Network Cloud is a cloud-native software that runs over a shared physical infrastructure of standard white-
boxes, radically simplifying the network’s operations, offering telco-scale performance and elasticity at a much lower cost.
For more information, visit us at www.drivenets.com