Znyx Networks bh5700 - Manual (Page 20)

You will find the Ethernet Switch Blade has a straightforward installation and configuration.
UNIX or Linux system management skills and some understanding of network protocols will be
required.
Configure the Ethernet Switch Blades to your networking application before you
begin using the OpenArchitect switch.
OpenArchitect Switch Environment
The key elements of the OpenArchitect environment include two embedded Linux operating
systems, OpenArchitect-specific applications and libraries, plus, an innovative switch hardware
design.
OpenArchitect hardware is in many ways similar to typical switch architectures. The primary
difference in OpenArchitect is that the PCI bus that interfaces with the embedded processor and
the switch fabric is at a higher performance level than a typical switch (see Figure 1.1: Fabric
Switch Elements). The use of PCI creates a pipe of significant bandwidth between the processor
and the switch fabric.
The embedded processors, running Linux and the OpenArchitect processes, control the flow of all
traffic by maintaining the switch forwarding tables. These tables define the flow of the switch
traffic. Because they are on the switching chips, packets proceed at line rate.
OpenArchitect Software Structure
OpenArchitect is based on an embedded Linux operating system and includes a number of ZNYX
Networks-supplied modules. The key element is the Linux routing table, which is crucial in a
Ethernet Switch Blade User's Guide release 3.2.2j page 20
Figure 1.1: Fabric Switch Elements