[Case Study] lighty.io orchestrating Kaloom Fabric Manager

Kaloom’s expertise in P4 low-level programming created a high-performance programmable fabric, but it remained a black box to the end-user without a sophisticated orchestration layer. 

By leveraging lighty.io, our lightweight SDN controller framework, PANTHEON.tech delivered the Kaloom Fabric Manager (KFM) in just a few months.

Project Snapshot

• Project Year: 2017 – 2018
• Industry: Data Center Infrastructure & Edge Computing
• The Challenge: The client had world-class P4 engineering but lacked a high-level UI to manage complex, programmable network fabrics and automate Virtual Network Function (VNF) reconfigurations.
• Our Role: We utilized the lighty.io SDK to build the Kaloom Fabric Manager (KFM), creating a “single pane of glass” for topology visualization and device orchestration.
• Tech Foundation: lighty.io, OpenDaylight (ODL), YANG 1.1, NETCONF, P4, VNF Automation, Docker.
• Project Duration: 8 Months (from early integration to General Availability).
• Results: Delivered a production-ready, containerized management system that boots in seconds and handles massive topologies with a minimal resource footprint.

The Challenge: Breaking Out of the Black Box Networking Manual

The client’s data plane was powered by cutting-edge P4 programming, offering great flexibility and speed. 

However, they faced a critical operational bottleneck – their hardware lacked an intuitive management layer. Without a high-level orchestrator, network engineers were forced to manage complex NETCONF interfaces manually. This made the allocation of resources to Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) slow and error-prone.

Also, traditional SDN controllers like OpenDaylight were too heavy for the client’s vision. They were slow to boot and consumed excessive resources, which is a major hurdle for edge computing and resource-constrained environments. 

The project required a solution that could visualize massive network topologies in real-time without performance lag, while also supporting frequent, automated reconfiguration of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs).

Our Approach: The Lightweight Advantage with lighty.io

Speed of delivery and performance efficiency were the two pillars of our strategy. By choosing lighty.io over a standard OpenDaylight distribution, we were able to build a highly specialized, branded management tool. 

The Kaloom Fabric Manager addressed the specific hardware needs of their Software Defined Fabric.

1. Building the Foundation with the lighty.io SDK

Rather than fighting the bloat of a standard controller, we used lighty.io as an SDK. 

This allowed us to cherry-pick only the necessary components for NETCONF communication and UI visualization. The result was a controller that boots in seconds rather than minutes, providing the immediate responsiveness required for modern data center operations. 

2. High-Scale Topology Visualization

A major highlight of the KFM is its ability to provide operational clarity. 

We engineered a real-time, interactive map of the network fabric. This UI was designed to scale, allowing engineers to visualize massive topologies (Leaf, Spine, and Controller nodes) and their interconnections, without the typical browser-side lag, associated with large-scale SDN visualizations.

3. Orchestrating Virtual Fabrics and VNFs

We implemented a robust Northbound/Southbound communication flow.

• Southbound: Utilizing a specialized NETCONF plugin to communicate directly with the hardware and software fabric.
• Northbound: Providing the interface for DCIPs to create and configure Virtual Fabrics and termination points.

This automation was essential for environments running VNFs, where the ability to reconfigure the network dynamically is a core requirement.

4. Optimized for Edge and Resource-Constrained Environments

By using lighty.io, the final KFM footprint was significantly smaller than traditional distributions. This made the solution “edge-ready,” allowing it to run efficiently at the network’s periphery, where CPU and memory resources are in high demand.

The Results: A Production-Ready, Unified Interface

The collaboration resulted in a sophisticated management system delivered in a fraction of the time it would take to build from scratch. 

By the GA 1.0 release in July 2018, the client possessed a containerized, “plug-and-play” orchestrator that brought visual simplicity to complex P4 networking.

Key Wins Included:

• [Technology] Record-Time Delivery: Thanks to our expertise with OpenDaylight and lighty.io, we moved from initial concept to a functioning General Availability release in just eight months.
• [Technology] Centralized View: Network engineers gained the ability to see exact traffic flows and where virtual components reside, in both physical and logical spaces.
• [Technology] Lightweight Performance: The KFM achieved fast boot times (seconds) and a minimal resource footprint, making it ideal for high-scale data centers and edge computing.
• [Business] VNF Automation at Scale: The system enabled automated, frequent reconfigurations of Virtual Network Functions, drastically reducing manual overhead for service providers.
• [Business] Custom Branded Solution: We provided a blueprint for how a company can take an open-source framework and transform it into a branded, specialized management tool tailored for unique hardware.

Ready to bring operational clarity to your network?

Is your networking hardware held back by a “heavy” or non-existent orchestration layer? Whether you need to visualize massive topologies or automate VNF management, our Agile experts can deliver a custom lighty.io solution in record time.