Penguin Computing Releases New Line of Arctica Ethernet Switches 

Penguin Computing today announced imminent availability of the new Arctica 4806xp open network switch based on the Broadcom StrataXGS Trident II chipset. Penguin Arctica 4806xp is the first 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet Top-of-Rack (ToR) open switch using an x86 control processor, which provides a flexible platform for Software Defined Networking and customer defined applications.

A combination of 10 Gigabit host links and 40 Gigabit uplinks in Arctica 4806xp supports cost-efficient intra-rack connectivity using industry standard Twinax cables, while offering multiple 40 Gigabit copper and optical links options for distribution layer connectivity. The Arctica 4806xp data plane features native, line rate capable VXLAN support, making the platform ideally suited for modern scale-out architectures and virtualized multi-tenant environments found in service provider data centers.

“Penguin Computing is very familiar with the concept of software stack and hardware platform decoupling, having pioneered Linux servers since 1998,” said Tom Coull, CEO and President of Penguin Computing. “Since 2013 we have been pioneering Linux adoption on networking infrastructure. Penguin’s Arctica switches adhere to the Software Defined Networking (SDN) model and support Cumulus Linux, enabling customers to apply Linux based orchestration and management tools and Linux system administrator talent to network management.”

“The Penguin Arctica 4806xp is the first 10G Trident II-based switch of its kind on our hardware compatibility list," said Shrijeet Mukherjee, VP Engineering Cumulus Networks. "This is an important milestone that will further drive choice and flexibility to our joint customers with a 10G switch optimized for scale, network virtualization and x86 application portability.”

Penguin Computing is focused on testing, integrating and supporting Linux-based compute, storage and networking in the HPC clusters and Internet datacenters. The Arctica line of switches is offered in Penguin’s rack level solutions and also as standalone products. The new Arctica 4806xp switch will be available in late third calendar quarter of 2014.