OpenStack Neutron vs PacketFabric

OpenStack Neutron provides network connectivity between interface devices managed by other OpenStack services. Its API lets operators define cloud connectivity and addressing, and manage networks, subnets, and ports. Neutron supports provider, routed provider, and self-service networks, with options including VLAN, VXLAN, GRE, and Geneve. It can configure L3 forwarding, NAT, perimeter firewalls, and virtual private networks, and works mainly with OpenStack Compute to connect instances. Plug-ins and agents are available for Open vSwitch, OVN, SR-IOV, and Macvtap, although only one networking plug-in can be used at a time. Security groups provide port-level ingress and egress firewall rules, with default-deny and anti-spoofing rules. Quality-of-service options include bandwidth and packet-rate limits, DSCP marking, and minimum rates, depending on the backend. Neutron is free and open source under Apache 2.0, for Linux and self-hosted deployments. The installation guide’s example requires at least two hosts and is framed as a learning proof of concept for people with sufficient Linux experience, not a production setup.

PacketFabric is a web and API network-services platform for on-demand cloud access, Internet connectivity, and point-to-point links. Its hybrid cloud service offers hosted and dedicated connections from hundreds of data centers to cloud and SaaS providers, at 50Mbps to 100Gbps. PacketFabric describes a private optical network exceeding 65 Tbps, while each network port supports up to 4,000 virtual circuits. Listed partners include AWS Direct Connect, Google Cloud Interconnect, Azure ExpressRoute, IBM Direct Link, Oracle FastConnect, Salesforce Express Connect, Markley, and Webair. Customers can provision services, including Internet Exchange connections, through a self-service portal or automate them with a standards-based REST API and Terraform provider. The service supports multicloud connectivity, infrastructure as code, VPN management, and network monitoring. Cloud connectivity requires a physical cross-connect between customer equipment and the access port. Dedicated connections also need a cloud-provider LOA and may take several days. Pricing is handled in the portal, with terms from month-to-month to 36 months.