Vyatta Upgrades Open Source Network Operating System

Vyatta Tuesday released the latest iteration of its software-based open source network operating system that encompasses enterprise-class routing and network security.

The latest version -- dubbed Vyatta 6.1 -- includes IPv6 certification, as well as cloud-specific features and enhanced security, according to the company. The technology includes layer 2 bridging and cloud bridging, port-mirroring and redirection, and more than 120 bug fixes, Vyatta said. Vyatta's software is portable to standard x86 hardware, common virtualization, and cloud computing platforms, and scales from DSL to 20-Gbps performance, the company said.

"Network requirements are changing faster than ever before and right-sizing the network to applications, workloads, and evolving infrastructures requires the scalability that only a software-based routing and security solution can provide," said Tom McCafferty, VP of marketing for Vyatta. "The security enhancements, cloud bridging, and IPv6 functionality delivered in the Vyatta Version 6.1 software release make it even easier for large, distributed organizations to connect, protect, and secure physical, virtual, and cloud computing environments."

The Vyatta Subscription Edition includes IPv6 Ready Logo Phase 2 Certification, configuration replication, remote access API enhancements, and TACACS+ enhancements.

Vyatta also now offers Sourcefire/Snort VRT rule-base as a subscription service under its Vyatta Plus offering. This new service lets customers proactively protect systems by accessing updates to the rule base directly from Vyatta as new vulnerabilities are discovered, according to Vyatta.

Customers include large corporations -- such as Dell Services -- as well as midsize and small enterprises.

"The Vyatta Network OS allows us to deploy firewalling and VPN in our cloud as a virtual machine and on customer premise as a hardware device using the same software package," said Sanjay Basu, senior technical architect of virtual utility services, infrastructure solutions at Dell Services. "Vyatta is able to provide the network services and secure connectivity that Dell GIS Cloud requires in a package that addresses the virtualization, commoditization, and cost-benefit requirements of cloud computing."

Other new features and capabilities include: Link Layer Discovery Protocol; stateful firewall/NAT failover; Quality of Service input interfaces; port mirroring and redirection; BGP hop count security; DHCPv6; IPv6 BGP; IPv6 SNMP; and GTSM BGP.

"Open and flexible networking is an essential foundation for enterprise adoption of cloud computing," said Sunil Potti, VP of product management and marketing, networking, and cloud products at Citrix. "Businesses need to know that all aspects of their internal networking infrastructure will be interoperable, and that they can deploy workloads easily within datacenter boundaries. Vyatta's latest release, in conjunction with Citrix virtual networking services, enables the adoption of elastic, cost-effective cloud solutions by enterprises and cloud service providers."

The open source Vyatta Core Version 6.1, available down, can be downloaded at Vyatta's website. Pricing for the subscription edition starts at $747, and Vyatta Snort VRT Rules' pricing begins at $250 per year.