# 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.