Hardware Abstraction Layer

Hardware Abstraction Layers (HALs) are sets of application programming interfaces (APIs) that provide device independence for the Control Center software. HALs are used to automate the interaction with physical devices within an I-Fabric. The HAL module translates abstract Control Center actions into device-specific commands. HALs might provide interfaces to specific manufacturer's Ethernet switches.

Because the Control Center software deals with only the abstract behavior of the device, HALs enable the Control Center software to manage different devices that exhibit the same overall behavior but might differ in how they are configured and managed. This difference could exist because the equipment is from different manufacturers or because of differences between current and next-generation products.