Considering a switch to open-source networking?
Explore the reasons to choose an open-source NOS like SONiC, along with a breakdown of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for both proprietary and open-source solutions.
Open-source networking promises freedom from vendor lock-in, lower recurring costs, and the agility to innovate. But the reality of turning Community NOS projects like SONiC into production-grade infrastructure is rarely plug-and-play. Integrating, hardening, and operating an open NOS across diverse hardware, orchestration stacks, and service requirements demands deep expertise, disciplined engineering processes, and continuous community engagement.
Beyond operational benefits, open networking also intersects with digital sovereignty – the ability to retain full control over how data is stored, processed, and exchanged, and to govern the software and infrastructure powering it. In Europe, this includes adherence to GDPR, the Data Act, Data Governance Act, and AI Act, ensuring that both data flows and automated decisions respect citizen-centric principles, transparency, and accountability.
In the third article of our series on digital independence, we explain why specialized services are essential and show how PLVision converts SONiC from a community-driven foundation into stable, supported, and field-proven network software for enterprises, data centers, telcos, and hardware manufacturers.
Why Professional Services Matter in Open Networking
Open source delivers choice and transparency, but it also requires disciplined lifecycle management from adopters. A more challenging area is integration and testing, which should include:
- Fast upstream change-cycles and security patches that must be validated before deployment.
- Hardware diversity: different ASICs, DPUs, and SmartNICs require tailored SAI/driver integrations.
- Feature gaps between community builds and telco/enterprise production requirements (timing, subscriber management, carrier protocols).
- Operational maturity: incident response, monitoring, and upgrade paths that align with an organisation’s SLAs.
A professional services partner de-risks adoption by taking on these tasks, delivering hardened images, tested integrations, and ongoing support so your teams can focus on services and applications rather than NOS internals.
PLVision – Your Trusted Open-Networking Partner
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Krakow, Poland, PLVision combines long experience in networking software with active community leadership. Our team of 200+ engineers contributes to and helps govern projects such as SONiC and DENT, and participates in initiatives like the Linux Foundation, Open Compute Project (OCP), and Telecom Infra Project (TIP).
That mix of practical engineering and community influence gives clients early visibility into roadmaps and standards and the ability to move confidently from proof-of-concept to deployment.
What sets us apart:
- Deep engineering experience – 15+ years integrating across leading switch silicon and platforms.
- Community leadership – active contributors and governing-board participants for SONiC, DENT, and related projects.
- Proven outcomes – case studies, ready-to-use solution – SONiC Lite enterprise distribution, and a completed internal migration that demonstrate TCO improvements, simplified operations, and true hardware neutrality.
Calculate Total Costs of Ownership
Proprietary vs. Open-Source Based Networks
As a European leader in open, disaggregated technologies, PLVision delivers custom vendor-agnostic software networking solutions, giving you full control, lower costs, and future‑ready scalability. We offer complete solutions, from A to Z. No matter who you are – a startup or an enterprise – we will become your magic wand.
High-Caliber Solutions for High-Caliber Business
PLVision’s service portfolio covers the full spectrum – from hardened community images to custom product development and telco-grade distributions, all backed by Tier-3 support. Here’s a closer look at our core offerings.
Hardened Community SONiC Image for DC
Your production-ready Community SONiC image, rigorously tested, security-patched, and validated across white-box hardware, so data centers and enterprises can adopt SONiC with Tier-3 support and a predictable operational model. This hardened image removes the uncertainty of raw upstream releases, preserves vendor neutrality, and optimizes TCO.
Benefits:
- Eliminates vendor lock-in and licensing fees.
- Greater flexibility and scalability for custom network requirements.
- Access to collective community innovation while retaining control over update timing.
- Optimized operations and predictable upgrade paths.
SONiC-Based Product Development
End-to-end product development for OEMs shipping SONiC-powered switches and appliances. We follow a Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC): use-case definition → prototyping → integration → verification → post-market maintenance.
SONiC Architecture
We also build SONiC distributions for data centre owners, system integrators, and enterprises to speed feature development and align operations with automation and SLA objectives.
SONiC Use Case: Multi-Tenancy with BGP, EVPN, and VXLAN
SONiC for Telco
Carrier environments require features that Community SONiC may not include out of the box. Our services for developing telco-grade SONiC distributions deliver the missing capabilities for Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG), open aggregation routers, and OpenBNG:
- MPLS, precise time-synchronisation, and L2/L3 routing for DCSG.
- High-availability routing, BFD and carrier QoS for aggregation routers.
- PPPoE, L2TP, VPN and subscriber management for OpenBNG.
Why this matters:
- Telecom operators can deploy open, cost-effective, and vendor-neutral infrastructure for 5G and beyond.
- Faster feature delivery and ongoing compatibility across switching silicon and bare-metal platforms.
Get Your Custom SONiC Distribution for Telco Use Cases
PLVision provides SONiC-based
product development services for Telco use cases.
When to Engage PLVision
Timing is critical in open networking transformations. Adopting open-source networking at the right moment ensures that design choices, integration efforts, and operational practices are aligned with both short-term goals and long-term scalability. Early engagement lets you embed SONiC where it matters most, avoid costly rework, and maximize the return on your investment in hardware, software, and engineering resources.
Engage PLVision when you’re at a strategic inflection point:
- OEMs launching a new switch: partner early to embed SONiC, optimise BOM, and deliver a differentiable product fast.
- Telcos moving to disaggregated networks: adopt SONiC for DCSG, aggregation, or OpenBNG to control cost and future-proof mobile networks.
- NaaS / Enterprises tired of legacy NOS: consolidate a multi-vendor switch estate, reduce operational complexity, optimize TCO, and regain software control.
- Data center owners wanting enhanced flexibility and hardened images for reliable operations.
Engagement can be phased – start with an assessment and lab-based PoC, then scale into productisation, rollout, and support.
Conclusion
Open networking delivers strategic freedom, but realising that freedom on a scale requires expert partners. PLVision turns SONiC’s promise into production reality with hardened images, software product development, and telco-grade SONiC distributions that accelerate time-to-value, optimize costs, and protect interoperability. By leveraging our community leadership and proven track record, we empower businesses to achieve digital sovereignty through transparent, controllable open-source infrastructure.
Ready to explore how SONiC can enhance your business?
Book a call with our experts to discuss your use case and unlock the full potential of open, disaggregated networking.
Senior Software Engineer at PLVision
Vadym Hlushko, a Senior Software Engineer at PLVision, brings over 6 years of expertise to SONiC, the widely adopted open-source network operating system. His experience spans integration and the development of new features within the system.
