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Designing Next-Generation DC and WAN Networks for the Neo-Cloud Era with Cisco 8000, SONiC and XR - BRKMSI-1471#

Cisco Live Europe 2026 (Amsterdam) digest Program Adjacent pick Amsterdam · 9–13 February 2026

Abstract

Krithika Moorthy (Cisco), Jiri Chaloupka (Cisco)

  • Why: The IOS XR (WAN/backbone) + SONiC (DC) split as a deliberate two-NOS operating model is a useful reference pattern, even if presented through Cisco's reference-architecture lens.
  • What: The Neo-Cloud reference architecture: IOS XR for backbone roles, SONiC for data center functions, unified operations across DC and WAN; high-performance interconnect design, multi-vendor interoperability, capacity planning, redundancy, and traffic optimization, illustrated with real-world use cases (from abstract only).
  • How: Role-based OS assignment across domains with an operations layer aimed at consistency between them.
  • Where applicable: Cisco reference architecture; the pattern (split NOS by domain, unified ops) generalizes, but specifics are Cisco 8000-family-bound.