Cumulus Networks
| File:Cumulus Networks green logo.png | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Networking software, Cloud Networking |
| Founded | January 2010 |
| Founders | JR Rivers Nolan Leake |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | Josh Leslie (CEO) |
| Products | Operating System for Switches |
| Parent | Nvidia |
| Website | cumulusnetworks |
Cumulus Networks operated as a software firm based in Mountain View, California, USA, specializing in a Linux-driven operating system tailored for commodity network switches alongside management tools aimed at extensive data center, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise sectors.
In May 2020, the semiconductor giant Nvidia acquired Cumulus, folding it into Nvidia's networking portfolio together with Mellanox Technologies. Nvidia continues to support and distribute Cumulus Linux.
Background
Established in 2010 by JR Rivers and Nolan Leake, Cumulus Networks secured initial seed capital in 2012 and officially entered the market in 2013 following a period of stealth development. The company attracted investment from leading venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Sequoia Capital, as well as individual investors including Peter Wagner and the original VMware founders.
To broaden its reach within the open networking market, Cumulus formed key alliances with prominent hardware manufacturers: Dell (2014), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) (2015), Mellanox (2016), and Lenovo (2018) all began incorporating Cumulus Linux into their network switch offerings. These collaborations strengthened the company’s position against traditional proprietary solutions.
Co-founder JR Rivers stepped down from his CTO position in June 2019. Both Rivers and Leake have since exited the Board of Directors.
In early 2020, HPE collaborated with Cumulus to embed Cumulus’ Linux NetQ technology into HPE’s network storage product lineup, further solidifying Cumulus’ presence in data center networking technologies.
The 2020 acquisition by Nvidia represented a pivotal development for Cumulus, enhancing Nvidia’s global capabilities within cloud networking markets.
Cumulus Linux
Cumulus Linux is a networking OS based on Linux designed for bare metal switches, utilizing the Debian distribution as its foundation. According to a 2017 Gartner report, Cumulus Networks was acknowledged as an innovator in open source networking by challenging the dominance of proprietary operating systems tied to hardware vendors. By deploying bare metal switches operating with Cumulus Linux, the company achieved substantial adoption, with 32% of Fortune 50 companies utilizing it within their data centers that year.
NetQ
NetQ provides network state validation capabilities focused on continuous operational monitoring and root-cause analysis post-failure, thereby improving network stability and performance oversight.
Host Pack
Host Pack combines tools such as NetQ and FRRouting to enhance network observability and connectivity. It facilitates host integration into layer 3 networks while supporting layer 2 overlay networks, thereby advancing overall network fabric verification and routing functionality.
Open Network Install Environment (ONIE)
Launched by Cumulus in 2012 and subsequently embraced by the Open Compute Project, ONIE serves as an open source installation framework designed for bare metal switches. This project separates the hardware layer from the operating system, enabling data centers to select their desired network OS independently. All switches that comply with ONIE can run Cumulus Linux, reinforcing its role within the open networking landscape.