Jon’s Network

StillSecure has released Cobia Beta 0.2, their open source Unified Networking Platform (UNP) platform. It is available as an ISO or as a VMWare image for Linux or Windows. The dual-use license allows anyone to use and modify it for free as long as they don’t sell Cobia or any modifications of it. ISVs are still allowed to develop and sell their own plug-in modules as long as they aren’t sold as a bundle with the Cobia framework without a commercial license.

The modules currently available for download are:

1. Admin: The management console


2. Router: Static, RIPv2, BCPv2 and Xorp 1.3. OSPFv4 and IPv4 are on the way
3. Firewall: Stateful, policy based rules, logging and stats, NAT and more
4. DHCP: Server, scopes, dynamic pools, reservation pools, parameters, dhcpd 3.0.3

There are a couple of reasons I am excited about Cobia. First, it makes it dirt cheap and easy to build a network. It will get easier once the support community - paid and volunteer- is more developed. Second, if Cobia catches on, there will be a community of developers creating modules for fame and fortune, similar to the communities surrounding other open source frameworks such as Drupal and Joomla. This will give consumers a wide variety of low cost choices to customize their networks to their needs.

Learn more about the Cobia Unified Network Platform.