The core software technology of the ZX7200 goes far beyond simple Ethernet switch management. The field proven OpenArchitect® embedded operating system provides Linux-enabled flexibility in management protocols, configuration, packet vectoring, and high-availability features. Only ZNYX OpenArchitect uses familiar, industry-standard Linux interfaces, enabling simple system configuration and true transparency for network integration.

OpenArchitect® uses open-source, industry compatible APIs for networking. This allows any Linux-compatible protocol stack to work, giving ISVs flexibility in the choice of protocol stacks.

Continuous (“five nines” or better) operation is a hard requirement in most networks, making hardware redundancy a must. Software facilities are equally critical to enable automatic, rapid re-convergence of the network around failed components. OpenArchitect/HA fills this need with the fastest fail-over performance possible in packet-switched networks. Instead of convergence in seconds or minutes as is typical for STP/RSTP failover schemes, OpenArchitect/HA can fail-over in milliseconds, often faster than the dual-SONET standard of 50 milliseconds.

A bonus feature unique to ZNYX Networks OpenArchitect® switches is also found on the ZX7200. Packet Vectoring refers to the ability of the switch to send packets port to port using any information within the packet. This enables load balancing, security monitoring, and many other applications that would otherwise not be possible. Because the silicon handles the real-time decision making, all packet vectoring happens at full line rate without restrictions.

The OA/PV implementation uses the familiar Linux iptables control interface to implement packet vectoring rules. With very little learning curve, network technicians can configure packet vectoring subsystems that eliminate the need for expensive external load balancing or network processing systems.