Blach Construction is a team of collaborative builders in San Jose, CA committed to quality, innovation and customer satisfaction since 1970. They make extensive use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to deliver accurate results. They model what they intend to build, and then they build exactly what they modeled. Laser scanning and robotic layout ensure accurate as-built data and allows for greater control over installing coordinated systems.
Virtual design and construction requires edge computing at job sites to integrate laser scanning data and robotic layout tools with BIM software. Construction management is all about getting the correct materials, equipment and personnel on site to deliver a project on schedule. With 16 month lead times, incumbent network equipment vendors challenged Blach’s ability to add computing capacity for virtual design and construction.
Faced with real-world deadlines, the Blach IT team sourced network equipment from Edgecore with only 1 month of lead time. The Edgecore switches arrived with SONiC, and Blach then needed to figure out how to install, configure and manage a private cloud data center combined with job site edge computing. They researched SONiC, found Hedgehog, and decided that it would be a better use of time and talent to learn cloud-native software than dive into the labyrinth of the SONiC command line interface.
Hedgehog tested our Open Network Fabric powered by SONiC on Blach’s distributed cloud topology in December’s Just Cause release, adding support for Edgecore equipment and Power Over Ethernet (POE) for measurement and robotic devices. As a result, Hedgehog now supports a distributed cloud topology consisting of Edgecore DCS204 (AS7726-32X) in a private cloud spine role, Edgecore DCS203 (AS7326-56X) in a private cloud leaf role, and Edgecore EPS203 (AS4630-54NPE) connecting devices on job sites in an edge leaf role.
Marc Austin is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Hedgehog. Marc is a fox who knows many things and a hedgehog who knows one big thing. As a Hedgehog he knows that millions of cloud native development teams will use Hedgehog open network fabrics to deploy their apps on distributed cloud infrastructure. As a fox he knows many things from his experience leading mass-scale automation strategy at Cisco, Internet of Things networking at Jasper, digital media delivery at Amazon, mobile application development founding Canvas, the birth of smartphones at AT&T, early mobile ride sharing founding Mobiquity, internet search at Infoseek, e-commerce at Internet Shopping Network and leading people through adversity in the United States Army.