Aviz Packet Broker (APB)

Software-Defined Network Visibility for Modern Infrastructure

April 9, 2026

Overview

Network Packet Brokers have long been a foundational component of enterprise and service provider infrastructures. However, traditional solutions are appliance-based, proprietary, and costly limiting flexibility and scalability in modern environments.

With the rise of application-driven networking, overlay architectures (VXLAN, GRE), and high-speed data flows across data centers, cloud, and edge environments, organizations require a more agile and cost-effective approach to network visibility.

Aviz Packet Broker (APB) is a software-defined packet broker built on SONiC, designed to run on industry-standard white box switches. It transforms standard switching hardware into a high-performance network visibility and traffic distribution platform delivering enhanced overlay visibility, intelligent traffic distribution, and FIPS-aligned security while eliminating vendor lock-in.

Why Traditional Packet Brokers Fall Short

01

Rigid, Proprietary Hardware : Limits flexibility and increases dependency on single vendors.

02

High Cost (CapEx & OpEx) : Expensive appliances with limited scalability.

03

Limited Visibility in Overlay Networks : Inability to efficiently inspect VXLAN and GRE traffic.

04

Inefficient Traffic Distribution : Poor load balancing leads to tool overload or underutilization.

Aviz APB Solution

Aviz Packet Broker delivers a disaggregated, software-first approach to network visibility:

• Runs on SONiC-based white box switches from leading vendors
• Aggregates traffic from data center, cloud, edge, and OT environments
• Filters and processes traffic at Layer 2–Layer 4
• Optimizes traffic by eliminating noise and redundant data
• Intelligently distributes traffic to security and observability tools

This enables organizations to build a scalable, flexible, and cost-efficient visibility fabric without proprietary constraints.

How Aviz Packet Broker Works

Figure: Aviz Packet Broker (APB) software stack transforming white box switches into a packet broker

Aviz Packet Broker (APB) operates as a software layer deployed on SONiC-based white box switches, enabling a complete traffic processing pipeline:

Aggregate

• Collects traffic from TAPs, SPAN ports, and virtual sources across data center, cloud, edge, telco, and OT environments

Filter

• Applies Layer 2–Layer 4 filtering to isolate relevant traffic

Optimize

• Reduces noise through slicing, deduplication, and intelligent processing

Distribute

• Delivers optimized traffic to security and observability tools using flow-aware load balancing

This architecture enables organizations to transform standard switching infrastructure into a high-performance packet broker, delivering scalable visibility and efficient tool utilization.

Key Capabilities

01

Traffic Aggregation

• Consolidate TAP, SPAN, and virtual traffic sources.

• Unified visibility across hybrid and distributed environments.

02

Advanced Traffic Filtering

• Layer 2–Layer 4 filtering.

• User-defined and header-based filtering.

03

Traffic Optimization

• Packet slicing and truncation.

• Noise reduction and efficient traffic delivery.

04

Intelligent Traffic Distribution

• Flow-aware load balancing using inner and outer headers.

• Efficient distribution across LAG member

• Optimized delivery to monitoring and security tools.

05

Deep Visibility into Overlay Traffic

• Native VXLAN decapsulation for application-level visibility.

• GRE decapsulation for Layer 3 and WAN

• Consistent processing of decapsulated traffic.

06

Security & Compliance

• FIPS-compliant cryptographic enforcement.

• Secure and standards-aligned control plane operations.

Key Benefits

01

Cost Efficiency

Reduce infrastructure costs by up to 50%+ by eliminating proprietary packet broker appliances.

02

Flexibility & Vendor Choice

Deploy on a wide range of SONiC-compatible platforms from vendors such as Celestica, Edgecore, NVIDIA, and Dell.

03

Scalability

Scale seamlessly from 10GbE to 400GbE+ environments with flexible deployment models.

04

Future-Ready Architecture

Supports modern data center, cloud, AI/ML, and telecom (5G) environments with high-performance packet processing.

05

Simplified Network Visibility

Simplifies network visibility with centralized control, granular filtering, and intelligent traffic distribution.

Platform Support

APB is supported on a broad ecosystem of SONiC-compatible white box switches, including:

Typical Use Cases

01

Network Traffic Monitoring and Analysis

02

Security Tool Integration and Traffic Distribution

03

Data Center and Cloud Observability

04

5G and Telecom Traffic Visibility

05

Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) Enablement

Conclusion

Aviz Packet Broker (APB) 2.12 delivers a modern, software-defined approach to network visibility by transforming white box switches into a powerful packet broker.

With deep visibility into overlay traffic, intelligent traffic distribution, and built-in security compliance, APB enables organizations to operate modern infrastructures with greater efficiency, flexibility, and control while significantly reducing cost and complexity.