Introduction
swXtch.io implements a software-based network switch called cloudSwXtch. cloudSwXtch consists of a software network switch and virtual NIC service called xNIC . Together, these components create an overlay network on top of a standard cloud network. This overlay network adds many valuable network features, one of which is a seamless IP multicast experience. With cloudSwXtch, existing user applications and services, that expect standards-based IP multicast, will work on any cloud without requiring any code changes. This enables performance to approach that of bare metal.
Installing cloudSwXtch
WHAT TO EXPECT
In this section, users will be able to learn more about installing cloudSwXtch on AWS, Azure, GCP and OCI.
Before you install cloudSwXtch, please review the System Requirements.
AWS cloudSwXtch Installation Guide
Azure cloudSwXtch Installation Guide
GCP cloudSwXtch Installation Guide
OCI cloudSwXtch Installation Guide
Installing xNIC
WHAT TO EXPECT
In this section, users will be able to learn more about installing the xNIC for Windows, Linux, and Kubernetes. Users must install an xNIC on every VM that needs to send or receive cloudSwXtch multicast or broadcast traffic.
Before you install the xNIC, please review xNIC System Requirements.
xNIC Installation Guide for Windows and Linux
xNIC Installation Guide for Kubernetes
wXcked Eye for Monitoring and Orchestration
wXcked Eye is a web-based monitoring and orchestration tool for cloudSwXtch. It presents users with a high-level view of their cloudSwXtch environment with an interactive network graph detailing connections to different endpoints. With an expansive look at performance metrics, users can ensure that their data is flowing as expected.
In addition, wXcked Eye unlocks the ability to configure Mesh, High Availability, Protocol Fanout, and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) from the comfort of a user's web browser.
For more information, see Using wXcked Eye for cloudSwXtch.
Testing
The xNIC installation includes the following utilities that can be used to verify both the functionality and performance of the network:
swxtch-top: This utility shows detailed cloudSwXtch statistics in the console. For more information click here.
swxtch-perf: This utility can be used to produce and consume multicast traffic for testing. For more information, click here.
swxtch-tcpdump: This utility helps capture multicast packets sent to and from the cloudSwXtch with logic to decode our own head and display the original MC payload. For more information, click here.
swxtch-where: This utility allows users to call for hardware information regarding their cloudSwXtch VM. For more information, click here.
Each of the utilities can be run from a VM that has the xNIC software installed. Detailed usage information can be found for each by entering in the —help command-line argument.
Multicast Examples
Users can find examples of the multicast by scrolling down to the Multicast Example section in the swxtch-perf article.