Frrouting
FRRouting (FRR) is a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project providing a free, open-source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms, serving ISPs, cloud providers, hyperscalers, and Fortune 500 enterprises with BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, and other routing daemons integrated via the zebra core.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Frrouting does
FRRouting (FRR) is a free and open-source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms, organized as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project since 2017. The software was forked from the Quagga project by long-time Quagga developers and implements a broad set of routing protocols including BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, PIM, LDP, BFD, Babel, PBR, OpenFabric, and VRRP, with alpha support for EIGRP and NHRP. Its integration with native Linux/Unix IP networking stacks makes it applicable for use cases ranging from connecting hosts, VMs, and containers to networks; advertising network services; LAN switching and routing; Internet access routers; and Internet peering. The project is described as actively used in production by hundreds of companies, universities, research labs, and governments.
The technical architecture comprises per-protocol daemons (bgpd, ospfd, ripd, isisd, pimd, ldpd, bfdd, babeld, pathd, eigrpd) plus the zebra core daemon and supporting components including the vtysh CLI shell, watchfrr monitor, and mgmtd management daemon. Modern capabilities include a gRPC northbound API for programmatic configuration, YANG/NETCONF/RESTCONF support for standardized configuration management, segment routing including SRv6 (Segment Routing over IPv6), IS-IS PPR (Partial Priority Routes) with IPv6 and MPLS SR tunnel support, and the centralized transactional management daemon (MGMTd). The zebra forwarding plane manager provides an interface to vendor ASIC dataplane implementations. Build targets span Linux distributions (Alpine, Arch, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, OpenWrt) and BSD variants (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD), with official Debian packages (covering Debian 8-13 and Ubuntu 14.04-24.04 LTS), RPM packages (CentOS, RedHat, Rocky), and Docker images on Quay.
FRRouting operates on a community-led open-source model under the Linux Foundation with no software licensing fees; revenue is not generated through direct sales. The project is sustained by contributions from 19 named contributor organizations including 6WIND, ATC, BISDN, cloudscale.ch, Hostinger, ISC, LabN Consulting, Landitec, NetDEF, Netris, NFWare, NVIDIA, OpenSourceRouting, Orange, Pluribus Networks, VMware, and VyOS Networks. Adoption is reported across ISPs, SaaS and cloud infrastructure providers, hyperscale services, Fortune 500 private clouds, web 2.0 businesses, universities, research labs, and government organizations, with go-to-market driven entirely by technical credibility, community reputation, mailing lists, GitHub, and documentation rather than traditional sales or marketing.
Frrouting firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Frrouting
- Legal name
- FRRouting Project
- Website
- https://frrouting.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FRRouting (FRR) is a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project providing a free, open-source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms, serving ISPs, cloud providers, hyperscalers, and Fortune 500 enterprises with BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, and other routing daemons integrated via the zebra core.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Frrouting industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Network Routing Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Routing Software, Network OS & Control Plane (NOS/BGP/OSPF/IS-IS stacks) (HDAFABAG)
Keywords
Where Frrouting is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Frrouting business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Open Source Software Distribution: FRRouting is free open-source software distributed under GPLv2. The project does not charge for software usage. Revenue is not generated through traditional software sales. The project operates as a collaborative open-source initiative under the Linux Foundation, sustained by contributions from member organizations rather than direct software sales.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Frrouting product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FRRouting (FRR) is a free, open source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms that implements BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, PIM, LDP, BFD, Babel, PBR, OpenFabric, and VRRP, with alpha support for EIGRP and NHRP. It serves network architects at ISPs, SaaS infrastructure providers, hyperscalers, web 2.0 businesses, and Fortune 500 enterprises needing standards-compliant routing integrated with native Linux/Unix IP networking stacks. Distributed under GPLv2 and governed as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project since 2017.
Product overview
FRRouting (FRR) is a single unified open-source routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms. It provides a comprehensive set of routing protocol daemons including bgpd (BGP), ospfd (OSPF), ripd (RIP), isisd (IS-IS), pimd (PIM), ldpd (LDP), bfdd (BFD), babeld (Babel), pathd (PATH), eigrpd (EIGRP), and the core zebra daemon, with supporting components like vtysh (CLI shell), watchfrr (daemon monitor), and mgmtd (management daemon). Distributed under GPLv2.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FRRouting (FRR) FRRouting (FRR) is a free and open source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms that implements BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, PIM, LDP, BFD, Babel, PBR, OpenFabric, and VRRP, with alpha support for EIGRP and NHRP. It serves network architects at ISPs, SaaS infrastructure providers, web 2.0 businesses, hyperscale services, and Fortune 500 private clouds. It includes routing protocol daemons (bgpd, ospfd, ripd, isisd, pimd, ldpd, bfdd, babeld, pathd, eigrpd) and the core zebra daemon, with supporting components like vtysh (CLI shell), watchfrr (daemon monitor), and mgmtd (management daemon). Distributed under GPLv2.
Quantifiable outcome
- Handles full Internet routing tables
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Frrouting
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Frrouting technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Frrouting partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Linux FoundationflagshipFRRouting is a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project since 2017. The Linux Foundation provides governance, infrastructure, and organizational support for the project.
- 6WINDcore6WIND is a contributor to the FRRouting project. 6WIND provides commercial networking solutions and contributes code and resources to support FRR development.
- Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC)coreATC contributes to FRRouting as part of their technology consulting and development efforts.
- BISDNcoreBISDN contributes to FRRouting, focusing on software-defined networking and whitebox switching solutions.
- cloudscale.chcoreSwiss cloud provider cloudscale.ch contributes to FRRouting, using the routing software in their infrastructure.
- HostingercoreHostinger contributes to FRRouting, utilizing the routing protocol suite in their web hosting infrastructure.
- Internet Systems Consortium (ISC)coreISC contributes to FRRouting. ISC is known for BIND DNS software and supports open-source networking projects.
- LabN ConsultingcoreLabN Consulting provides consulting services and contributes code to the FRRouting project.
- LanditeccoreLanditec distributes FRRouting through Scope7 open-source appliance solutions, making FRR available as a packaged networking appliance.
- NetDEFcoreNetDEF is a core contributor to FRRouting, hosting CI infrastructure and providing ongoing development support.
- NetriscoreNetris contributes to FRRouting and provides network controller solutions that utilize FRR.
- NFWarecoreNFWare contributes to FRRouting, specializing in NFV and network function virtualization solutions.
- NVIDIAcoreNVIDIA contributes to FRRouting, integrating FRR with their networking and GPU computing platforms.
- OpenSourceRoutingcoreOpenSourceRouting is a core contributor organization to the FRRouting project, providing development resources.
- OrangecoreOrange contributes to FRRouting as a major telecommunications company investing in open-source networking infrastructure.
- Pluribus NetworkscorePluribus Networks contributes to FRRouting, providing open networking solutions.
- VMwarecoreVMware contributes to FRRouting, integrating FRR with their virtualization and cloud infrastructure platforms.
- VyOS NetworkscoreVyOS Networks contributes to FRRouting and uses FRR in their open-source network operating system.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Frrouting competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- VyOS Networks: VyOS is an open-source network operating system that bundles FRR as its routing daemon. It is comparable because the two projects share corporate contributors (e.g., NetDEF, OpenSourceRouting) and run on adjacent Linux NOS use cases.
- Open vSwitch: Open vSwitch is the dominant open-source virtual switch often used alongside FRR in overlay/underlay cloud networking stacks. It is comparable as a complementary Linux networking infrastructure project with overlapping contributor communities and adoption.
- DANOS / VPP (FD.io): DANOS is a Linux Foundation open-source network OS originally derived from AT&T's dNOS, and VPP is its high-performance data plane. They overlap with FRR as alternative Linux Foundation-hosted open networking stacks targeting service providers and hyperscalers.
- SONiC (Microsoft-led Linux Foundation project): SONiC is an open-source network operating system for switches that uses FRR for routing on many platforms. It is comparable as an LF-hosted open NOS ecosystem influencing how routing codebases are packaged and adopted in hyperscale networks.
Direct peers
- BIRD Internet Routing Daemon: BIRD is the most directly comparable open-source IP routing daemon for Unix-like systems, supporting BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, Babel, and more. It competes head-to-head with FRR for the Linux routing stack role at ISPs and research networks.
- Quagga: The original GNU routing suite from which FRRouting was forked in 2017. Quagga remains a relevant reference point because FRR inherits its architecture and shares much of its protocol heritage.
Broad incumbents
- Arista EOS: Arista EOS is a programmable network operating system widely deployed in hyperscale and cloud data centers. It is comparable as a broad incumbent NOS that FRR is often deployed alongside or against in large-scale cloud and AI networks.
- Cisco IOS-XR / Network OS portfolio: Cisco's IOS-XR and broader NOS portfolio are the incumbent proprietary routing stacks FRR is most often positioned against in service-provider and large enterprise networks. They provide a useful comparison for the scale and integration depth FRR-based disaggregated stacks must match.
- Juniper Junos OS: Juniper's Junos is a long-standing incumbent routing and switching NOS used by service providers and large enterprises. Junos is the type of proprietary stack FRR is increasingly chosen to replace in disaggregation scenarios.
- Nokia SR Linux: Nokia SR Linux is a modern NOS built around NetOps tools and YANG models, increasingly positioned in service-provider and data-center networks. It competes for the same operator mindshare that FRR targets through its YANG/NETCONF and SRv6 investments.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Frrouting social profiles
Digital presenceFrrouting financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Frrouting leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Frrouting funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frrouting M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Frrouting
What does Frrouting do?
FRRouting (FRR) is a free, open source Internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms that implements BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, PIM, LDP, BFD, Babel, PBR, OpenFabric, and VRRP, with alpha support for EIGRP and NHRP. It serves network architects at ISPs, SaaS infrastructure providers, hyperscalers, web 2.0 businesses, and Fortune 500 enterprises needing standards-compliant routing integrated with native Linux/Unix IP networking stacks. Distributed under GPLv2 and governed as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project since 2017.
Is Frrouting a public or private company?
Frrouting is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Frrouting founded?
Frrouting was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Frrouting based?
Frrouting is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Frrouting make money?
One revenue line is on record: open Source Software Distribution.
Who are Frrouting's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are VyOS Networks, Open vSwitch, DANOS / VPP (FD.io) and SONiC (Microsoft-led Linux Foundation project). Direct peers are BIRD Internet Routing Daemon and Quagga. Broad incumbents are Arista EOS, Cisco IOS-XR / Network OS portfolio, Juniper Junos OS and Nokia SR Linux.
Does Frrouting have an API?
Yes. FRRouting provides a Northbound gRPC API for programmatic configuration and operational data access. It also supports NETCONF and RESTCONF for network management via YANG models. The management daemon (MGMTd) handles transactional configuration operations. Additionally, the Zebra component provides a forwarding plane manager interface. Developer documentation is at docs.frrouting.org/projects/dev-guide/en/latest.
What industry is Frrouting in?
Frrouting's product category is Network Routing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAFABAG, Routing Software, Network OS & Control Plane (NOS/BGP/OSPF/IS-IS stacks).