Netris vs Open Virtual Network

Netris is a network automation, abstraction, and multi-tenancy platform for AI infrastructure operators, including neoclouds, sovereign cloud operators, and AI factories. It spans Ethernet, InfiniBand, NVLink, DPUs, virtual networks, and edge networks. The Netris Controller uses algorithms to configure VRFs, VXLANs, BGP, and other settings with closed-loop assurance. It runs in the customer environment on dedicated bare-metal hosts, with a minimum of three nodes. Engineers can use a web console, REST API, or Kubernetes integration; the controller also works with Terraform and documents an NVIDIA UFM integration for InfiniBand. That plugin can automate PKey configuration and optionally create SHARP reservations for server clusters. Netris documents tenant isolation through VRFs, VXLANs, ACLs, InfiniBand PKeys, and NVLink fabric partitions. API requests, including GUI activity, are logged. If the controller is unreachable, devices continue forwarding traffic and enforcing existing policies, while new changes and telemetry pause. Pricing is on request.

Open Virtual Network (OVN) provides logical networking for virtual machine and container environments, intended for cloud management software. It converts virtual network configurations into OpenFlow and organizes them around logical routers and switches. Listed capabilities include distributed virtual routers and logical switches, access control lists, DHCP, and a DNS server. Tunnels or other encapsulations isolate logical networks from physical and virtual networks, allowing overlapping address spaces. Virtual machines can move between physical machines without network disruption, and gateways connect tunnel-based logical networks to physical networks. Examples of cloud-management integrations include OpenStack Neutron’s ml2/ovn plugin and ovn-kubernetes. OVN runs in userspace, needs no kernel modules, and is written in platform-independent C; its generic build guide covers Linux, FreeBSD, and NetBSD hosts. It is free under the Apache 2 license, with on-premises deployment, a centralized control plane, and a Linux and self-hosted platform listing. OpenSSL libssl is optional but recommended for secure connections to OVN database servers.