How an F100 E-Commerce Distribution Company Scaled Its Network with SONiC
March 16, 2026
ONES & SONiC
Summary
A Fortune 100 e-commerce distribution company operating across 100+ sites wanted to modernize its network using an open, disaggregated architecture.
By validating Certified Community SONiC on multi-vendor whitebox hardware with support from Aviz Networks, the company reduced vendor dependence, improved supply chain flexibility, and ensured production readiness before large-scale rollout.
Understanding How a Global E-Commerce Network Scaled with SONiC
Introduction
Modern e-commerce distribution networks operate at massive scale. With 100+ sites handling logistics, inventory systems, and application workloads, network reliability and flexibility become critical.
One Fortune 100 e-commerce distribution company set out to modernize its infrastructure using an open, disaggregated networking model. Their goal was simple: reduce costs, avoid vendor lock-in, and standardize their infrastructure across sites.
To do this, they evaluated Certified Community SONiC running on multi-vendor whitebox switches, with orchestration and support provided by Aviz Networks.
Before committing to a large-scale rollout, the organization needed to ensure the architecture would work reliably in their production environment.
Why did the company want to move to an open SONiC architecture?
The company wanted to reduce networking costs, eliminate vendor lock-in, and standardize infrastructure across more than 100 sites using a multi-vendor whitebox model.
Their strategic priorities included:
- Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) for networking hardware across distributed sites
- Eliminate dependence on proprietary networking vendors
- Standardize on a multi-vendor, multi-silicon whitebox architecture
- Ensure reliable orchestration, support, and lifecycle management
With infrastructure deployed across many locations, relying on proprietary networking stacks created supply chain constraints and operational rigidity. Moving toward an open SONiC architecture offered a path to greater flexibility and long-term scalability.
How did the company validate SONiC before large-scale deployment?
They performed extensive validation of multiple SONiC-enabled whitebox switches in a controlled environment before rolling out the solution across production sites.
The organization focused on validating interoperability in a heterogeneous network environment that included:
- Next-generation firewalls (NGFW)
- Servers and application workloads
- DAC cables and optical transceivers
- Multi-vendor hardware combinations
The goal was to ensure production readiness and minimize deployment risk before committing to the final hardware and architecture.
Testing different combinations of hardware and network components helped the team verify that the solution would operate reliably in real operational conditions.
How did Aviz help ensure production readiness?
Aviz built a multi-vendor SONiC validation sandbox that replicated real deployment conditions and executed automated tests covering functionality, interoperability, and performance.
To support the evaluation process, Aviz delivered a structured validation approach that included:
- Building a multi-vendor SONiC validation sandbox
- Generating realistic SONiC traffic based on customer use cases
- Executing automated test cases for functionality, interoperability, and performance
- Delivering detailed validation reports with actionable insights
- Supporting hardware selection and deployment planning
Architectural Approach
The validation environment was designed to simulate production conditions as closely as possible:
- Multi-vendor sandbox for SONiC testing and evaluation
- Production-like traffic generation
- Interoperability validation across hardware, optics, and cabling
- End-to-end behavior testing under realistic conditions
This ensured that the architecture would perform reliably before deployment across the company's distributed infrastructure.
Why did the company choose Aviz for SONiC validation?
The company selected Aviz because of its deep SONiC expertise and ability to simulate real-world deployment scenarios across multi-vendor environments.
Key factors behind the decision included:
- Expertise in SONiC across multi-vendor and multi-silicon environments
- Ability to simulate real-world traffic and failure scenarios
- Comprehensive validation beyond basic traffic testing tools
- A trusted partner for large-scale SONiC readiness
This approach gave the company confidence that their infrastructure would be stable and scalable before production rollout.
What results did the company achieve?
Pre-deployment validation helped the organization accelerate rollout decisions while reducing operational risk.
Key Results
- Significant time savings through pre-deployment validation
- Guaranteed readiness for large-scale rollout
- Reduced failures and troubleshooting during cutover
- Accelerated decision-making using detailed test reports
By validating their architecture before deployment, the company avoided many of the operational issues that typically occur during large infrastructure migrations.
Conclusion
Scaling networking infrastructure across 100+ sites requires careful planning, validation, and operational confidence.
By evaluating Certified Community SONiC on multi-vendor whitebox switches, this Fortune 100 e-commerce distribution company was able to move toward a flexible, open networking architecture while minimizing deployment risk.
With the support of Aviz Networks, the organization validated interoperability, performance, and reliability in a production-like environment ensuring the network was ready for large-scale rollout.
Planning a SONiC deployment or evaluating whitebox networking?
Explore how Aviz Networks can help you validate and deploy SONiC at scale
1. What was the primary goal of the Fortune 100 e-commerce company's network modernization?
The company wanted to modernize its network using an open, disaggregated architecture to reduce costs, eliminate vendor lock-in, and standardize networking across 100+ distribution sites while maintaining production reliability.
2. Why did the company choose SONiC for its network strategy?
SONiC offered the flexibility to run on multi-vendor whitebox hardware, enabling supply chain flexibility, lower total cost of ownership, and independence from proprietary networking vendors.
3. What challenges did the company need to address before large-scale deployment?
Before rollout, the organization needed to ensure: Interoperability across multiple hardware vendors, Compatibility with firewalls, servers, optics, and cabling, Production-level stability across distributed sites, Reduced risk during migration and cutover
4. How did the company validate SONiC before deploying it at scale?
The company conducted pre-deployment validation in a controlled, production-like environment, testing multiple SONiC-enabled whitebox switches and real-world traffic patterns before committing to final hardware decisions.
5. What role did Aviz Networks play in the validation process?
Aviz provided end-to-end SONiC validation by: Building a multi-vendor SONiC sandbox, Simulating real deployment conditions, Running automated functional, interoperability, and performance tests, Delivering detailed validation reports to guide rollout decisions
6. What made the validation environment production-ready?
The sandbox closely mirrored real-world conditions by including: Multi-vendor hardware and silicon combinations, Realistic traffic generation, Interoperability testing across optics, DACs, and firewalls, End-to-end behavior and performance validation
7. Why did the company choose Aviz over other validation options?
The company selected Aviz due to its: Deep expertise in Certified Community SONiC, Experience with multi-vendor and multi-silicon environments, Ability to validate beyond basic traffic testing tools, Proven approach to large-scale SONiC readiness
8. What business and operational results were achieved with Aviz ONES?
Key outcomes included: Faster and more confident rollout decisions, Reduced deployment and cutover risk, Fewer post-deployment failures, Significant time savings through pre-validation
9. How did the Aviz approach help reduce vendor lock-in?
By validating SONiC across multiple whitebox vendors, the company ensured it was not dependent on a single hardware supplier, improving supply chain resilience and long-term flexibility.
10. What is the key takeaway from the Aviz deployment?
For large, distributed enterprises, pre-deployment validation is critical. By validating Certified Community SONiC in a production-like environment with Aviz, the company achieved scalability, flexibility, and operational confidence before rolling out across 100+ sites.
