White box devices use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and open standards, allowing organizations to customize hardware and software stacks to their requirements. This approach fosters innovation, reduces costs, and supports software-defined networking (SDN) and open networking initiatives.

White box solutions are commonly deployed in data centers, enterprises, and telecom networks to support scalable, programmable, and interoperable network fabrics. The growing ecosystem of hardware and software vendors enables rapid adoption and integration of new technologies.

Platforms like Hedgehog are designed to take advantage of white box infrastructure, enabling flexible, automated, and vendor-agnostic network deployments that can be tailored to specific operational needs.

Best practices include validating hardware compatibility, leveraging open-source network operating systems, and ensuring robust support and management tools for production environments.