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White Box Switches: Benefits and Best Use Cases for Data Centers
What are white box switches and when should data center operators use them?
4 Min Read
White box switches offer data centers cost savings and flexibility but may present challenges in setup and maintenanceImage: Alamy
Purchasing data center hardware with obscure origins is generally not considered best practice. But under the right circumstances, this strategy can deliver great benefits in the data center.
One example of this is white box switches, which can provide advantages like greater flexibility at a lower cost when setting up network infrastructure.
While white box switches can deliver flexibility and cost savings, their potential drawbacks – such as higher setup effort and uncertain compatibility – make them less suitable for certain scenarios.
Choosing the right network switch for your data center often feels like a balancing act between cost, flexibility, and long-term reliability. Read on to discover when white box switches might be the ideal solution – and when they might not.
What is a White Box Switch?
A white box switch is a network switch built using generic components whose exact origin is not always clear. That is because, typically, white box switches are sold by vendors that manufacture them using materials they obtain from undisclosed sources.
White box switches often also do not come with any software preinstalled, so it’s up to businesses to deploy their own switch operating system on the devices. That said, vendors do sometimes preload white box switches with software.
White box switches are so-called because white boxing in general is a term that refers to IT equipment from a brand that is obscure or unknown. They’re the opposite of black box switches, which are hardware sold by prominent companies that specialize in network switches.
White box switches get their name from the broader concept of ‘white boxing,’ which refers to IT hardware from less prominent or unknown brands (Image: Alamy)
White Box Switches vs. Virtual Switches
To be clear, when we talk about white box switches, we’re referring to bare-metal hardware – not virtual switches or virtual switch offloading, which relies on software applications to implement some of the functionality provided by hardware switches.
Virtual switches can be another way to add flexibility to your data center and reduce costs, but because they tend to be much less powerful than hardware switches, don’t think of them as an alternative to white box switches.
Benefits of Data Center White Box Switches
For businesses responsible for setting up network infrastructure inside data centers, white box switches may offer two key advantages: cost-savings and flexibility.
Cost Savings
White box switches are typically (though not necessarily) less expensive than black box alternatives. When you’re not paying for a major brand name, and you’re willing to entrust your network to hardware whose origins are not totally known to you, part of the tradeoff is a device that costs less than a switch with comparable capacity from a known manufacturer.
Flexibility
Because white box switches use generic components and are typically compatible with any standard operating system, they can be adapted to support a variety of use cases.
When you opt for a white box switch, you’re not limited to the features or settings that the switch vendor chooses to support in its software. Nor are you bound to product and service ecosystems associated with a certain vendor, as you may be if you use a black box switch that is only compatible with other equipment or services approved by its manufacturer.
Challenges of White Box Switching Hardware
While white box switches offer several benefits to data center operations, white box switches can present challenges when it comes to setup, maintenance, and compatibility.
High Setup Effort
The time and expertise required to configure and deploy white box switches can be significant because users typically have to provision them with software on their own – or, even if the switch comes with a preinstalled operating system, it may be necessary to configure or customize the device, so it works with a particular network setup.
With black box switches, setup is usually much faster and easier because devices are bundled with software, and vendor support is typically available to assist with setup if necessary.
Maintenance
For similar reasons, maintaining white box switches can be challenging. Vendor support is usually not available, so the task of managing switches and troubleshooting issues like software bugs or failed hardware components falls to users.
Compatibility
White box switches tend to offer broad compatibility with different operating systems and configuration settings because they use generic, standardized hardware. However, there is typically no guarantee that a device will support a certain operating system.
The lack of details about hardware components can make it challenging to confirm exactly which hardware you have or what it will work with. This means that the operating system you intend to use may turn out not to be compatible with your hardware, for instance.
With black box switches, vendors typically offer guarantees about which setups their switches will support.
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White Box vs. Black Box Switches: Which Is Right for You?
If you want to minimize the costs of your network infrastructure and avoid being tied to a particular switch vendor’s ecosystem, a white box switch can be a great solution. Just remember that you’ll likely need to devote more staff resources to setting up and managing your switches. If you can’t spare those resources, a black box switch might be a better solution for your data center.
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