Last week, 20-somethings on Wall Street were buzzing about self-serving rumors that IBM would buy Brocade Networks. Well that didn’t happen (and I don’t think it ever will), but IBM did make a networking acquisition when it scooped up Blade Networks today. Terms of this deal were not disclosed.
Why Blade and not Brocade? Several reasons:
IBM is also probably anticipating a technology change in the HPC market as 40 and 100 gigabit Ethernet replaces Infiniband. Once again, Blade Networks will provide a turnkey blade solution for scientific computing and smart planet analytics. Blade also provides port and device consolidation for the burgeoning trend toward Ethernet-based storage.
I really don’t think that IBM wants a stand-alone networking business again, so an acquisition of Brocade, Extreme, Force 10, or even Juniper seems unlikely. With Blade, IBM can deliver a data center unit–complete with memory, processors, and networking/storage IO–in a tightly-integrated can. My guess is that IBM will sell a ton of these.
Tags: Blade Networks, Brocade Networks, Ethernet Storage, Extreme Networks, Force 10, HP, IBM, Infiniband, Juniper Networks Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
My colleague Mark Bowker and I are knee-deep in new research data on server virtualization. Within this mountain of data, we are discovering some existing and impending networking issues related to network switching.
Today, many server virtualization projects are led by server administrators, with little or no participation from the networking team. As you may imagine, this means that the server team configures all virtual switches to the best of its ability, without considering how physical switches are already configured. As things scale, the server team realizes the error of its ways and quickly calls the networking group in to help out. This is where things really break down. Before doing anything, the networking folks have to learn the virtualization platform, understand how the physical and virtual networks should interoperate, and then roll up their sleeves and start gluing everything together.
This is a painful learning curve but I believe that future issues will be far more difficult. As organizations increase the number of VMs deployed, networking configurations get more difficult — especially when VMs move around. Users regularly complain about the number of VLANs they have to configure, provision, and manage. This situation will grow worse and worse as VMs become the standard unit of IT.
In my mind, it makes no sense for virtualization vendors like Citrix, Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware to recreate the richness of physical L2 switches in the virtual world. So what can be done? Well one alternative is to eliminate virtual switches entirely and do all switching at the physical layer via the Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA) standard being developed in the IEEE.
I believe this will happen but in the meantime there is another alternative being discussed this week at the Citrix Industry Analyst Event — Open vSwitch. As described on the Apache web site, “Open vSwitch is a multilayer virtual switch licensed under the open source Apache 2.0 license. The goal is to build a production quality switch for VM environments that supports standard management interfaces (e.g., NetFlow, RSPAN, ERSPAN, CLI), and is open to programmatic extension and control.”
Here’s why this makes sense to me:
At the very least, Citrix, Microsoft, and Oracle should back this as a way to push back on VMware’s marketshare lead.
I’ve been around long enough to know the strengths and limitations of open source and standards but I think that with the right support, this one could have legs. I know that vendors have their own businesses to look after but isn’t another end goal to create products that the market wants? I think Open vSwitch would fit this bill.
Tags: Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Extreme Networks, Force 10, HP, IEEE, Juniper, Microsoft, Open vSwitch, Oracle, VEPA, VMware Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I’m here in the wasteful energy capital of the world, Las Vegas, for Interop. After back-to-back meetings and a few strolls across the show floor, here are some of my observations:
More tomorrow, I have to walk through the cigarette smoke Casino and meet some friends for dinner.
Tags: Arista Networks, Barracuda, Brocade Networks, Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks, ITIL Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Cisco is getting a lot of flack for billing its announcement yesterday as something that will “change the Internet forever.” I certainly understand this sentiment–will a new high-end core router, albeit with very impressive performance ratings, really change the Internet forever?
The answer is pretty simple: the router alone won’t change the Internet, but the underlying architecture? That’s another story.
Looking a bit below the surface, Cisco wants to build integrated network services that span the entire cloud. Internet data centers will be able to share network services like traffic management, prioritization, and security with service providers and cloud services with provisioning tools rather than complex networking devices. Want to burst processing or gain instant access to more storage? The network (in this scenario, the Cisco network) will help expedite and manage this. The fact that Cisco is arming CRS-3 with a networking positioning system should be a strong hint at where it ultimately wants to go.
Endpoints are also included in the architectural mix. PCs, smart phones, home routers, and even cable TV set tops will have “always-on” access to network services across wired and wireless public and private networks based upon business and security policies. Video and IP telephony instantly gain network priority over gaming or random web surfing. Even in your home, Cisco’s aim is to let you (and your service provider) create network policies for IP traffic, access control, and overall security.
To me, the “change the Internet” message is a one-two punch: embed the foundation technology everywhere and then provide Cisco’s strong enterprise and service provider customers with ample ways to use the services, improve communications and productivity, and make money.
Okay, so if this is a “seed and harvest” strategy, Cisco is still in the “seed” part of the process. Nevertheless, with Cisco UCS, CRS-3, set top boxes, VPN clients, etc., Cisco is planting a lot of seeds in a lot of places.
Cisco still has a lot of work ahead, but the roots are moving into place. I don’t think that the CRS-3 will impact Brocade, Dell, Extreme Networks, Force 10, HP, IBM, or Juniper overnight, but each incremental piece of the overall architecture makes the story more compelling for consumers, enterprises, and service providers. This where the “change the Internet” message becomes more real.
Tags: Brocade Networks, Cisco Systems, Cloud Computing, Extreme Networks, HP, IBM, Juniper Networks, virtualization, VMware Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Last week, I participated in a webinar on virtualization along with Extreme Networks and Microsoft. During the session, 113 audience members were asked two polling questions. Here are the questions and the results:
1. In your opinion, which of the following factors is holding your organization back from using server virtualization more prominently throughout the enterprise? (Choose all that apply)
2. As you move forward with virtualization, which of the following IT groups need to become more educated and involved in the project? (Choose all that apply)
ESG Research indicates that server virtualization is one of IT’s top priorities and it will generate a lot of IT spending in 2010. Ironically, it seems like that spending must be on hypervisors, virtualization tools, servers, and storage rather than on training and IT collaboration.
In my humble opinion, server virtualization technology is at a tipping point. Yes, we’ve squeezed a lot of value out of it to consolidate Windows server workloads, but future “dynamic virtual infrastructure” will require a lot more thought around IT processes and architecture. This means a lot of collective IT thought and preparation by virtualization-savvy IT folks.
If we are going to reach this plateau, the ESG and webinar data indicates that we better pay attention to people and process problems — not just technology problems. Without this the whole virtualization gravy train could slow down or come to an abrupt stop.
Tags: Citrix, Extreme Networks, Microsoft, VMware Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I recently spoke with Extreme Networks about its data center networking strategy. One of the highlights for me was Extreme’s plan to embrace the Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA) standard being developed in the IEEE. In simple terms, VEPA off-loads all switching activities from today’s hypervisor-based virtual switches to actual physical switches. There is a bit of debate between HP and Cisco whether this switching should occur at an edge or aggregation switch (note: I like HP’s approach), but suffice it to say that each vendor’s goal is similar.
What’s the big deal about VEPA? According to ESG Research, most enterprises run between 5 and 10 VMs across one virtual switch on each physical server. Pretty elementary stuff, but moving forward it is likely that the VM to server ratio will increase and as it does, server-based networking will have to become more sophisticated. Imagine a physical server running 30 VMs for example. This might require several virtual switches, VLANs, QoS tags, security zones, etc. This network processing will add a lot of overhead to Intel-based servers and require a lot more networking functionality for hypervisors. VEPA proposes an alternative approach where servers remain servers (i.e. for application processing), provide hypervisor visibility to the network, and simply delegate switching tasks to physical switches.
To me, this makes a ton of sense from a security and networking perspective. If next-generation switches support VEPA, it should make the whole virtual data center/cloud migration a lot more straight forward.
My one suggestion would be some type of alignment between VEPA and OVF (i.e. Open Virtualization Format). OVF is a proposed meta data standard to describe the properties of a VM. When a VM moves from one server to another local, remote, or cloud-based server, OVF could provide VM tags that describe networking properties to other VEPA switches (VLAN tags for example). Combined, VEPA and OVF could help automate networking and security operations associated with virtualization and cloud.
If virtualization is really the road to true cloud computing, virtualization intelligence sharing is critical for network engineering and security. VEPA is a step in the right direction toward this goal.
Tags: Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks, HP, IEEE, OVF, VEPA Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Cisco Systems (CSCO) has long had a unique competitive position in the enterprise market. In the glory days of the mainframe, IBM still competed with HDS and Amdahl, but Cisco has had the enterprise networking market to itself for a number of years.
This monopoly seems to be at its greatest risk ever — ESG calls this market phenomenon the Cisco squeeze. Think of Cisco in the middle of a big triangle with the competition closing in on Cisco from three distinct fronts:
1. Innovation. Juniper’s (JNPR) Trio chipset and 3-D architecture set a new plateau for networking performance that Cisco can’t match. Yes, this is probably a bigger threat in the service provider market than the enterprise, but large enterprises like DISA and NYSE are buying into Juniper innovation. Beyond Juniper, companies like F5 Networks (FFIV), Citrix (CTSX), and Riverbed (RVBD) are out innovating Cisco in strategic areas as well. Finally, small enterprises are looking longer at innovative and affordable alternatives like Extreme Networks (EXTR), Force10, and even 3Com (COMS) to get better end-to-end functionality at a lower price point.
2. Commodification. While aggressive innovators hurt Cisco at the high margin data center and core network, commodification hurts Cisco at the edge. The best example here is HP. Low-cost edge and wiring closet switches with lifetime warranties are increasingly “good enough” for many Cisco customers. If history repeats itself and the low end scales to eat the high end, HP (HOQ), Dell (DELL), and other commodity networking vendors will continue to gain share at Cisco’s expense.
3. Server vendors. With its introduction of UCS (aka: California), Cisco effectively alienated major partners Dell, HP, and IBM (IBM). Publicly each of these companies say that they will continue to work with Cisco but privately they are mobilizing the troops. Both Dell and IBM now OEM networking equipment from Brocade (BRCD)and Juniper while HP is bolstering its ProCurve offerings with new products and partners. The rumor is that HP will no longer pay its sales reps commission on selling Cisco gear — that will certainly change selling behavior.
Cisco is a huge successful company with good products, great support, and some of the best sales and marketing in the industry. It also has done a great job diversifying into new areas like Telepresence, consumer electronics, unified messaging, and yes, even servers. Cisco is a machine that will continue to flourish but it clearly faces greater competitive and market pressures today than ever before.
Here are a few things I’ll be watching for over the next few quarters:
1. Layoffs or budget cuts in sales, marketing, or field support. This will tell me that margins are eroding, existing field skills are no longer useful, or Cisco is losing strategic battles.
2. “Back to basics” messages from John Chambers. If the ever-visionary Cisco CEO starts speaking to Wall Street in cliches like, “we took our eye off the ball,” or “we need to get back to basic blocking and tackling,” things are way worse than most people think.
3. Big acquisitions. If Cisco goes out and buys an F5 Networks, Riverbed, or ArcSight (ARST), it tells me that internal innovation can no longer keep up with the market.
4. Server deals. If Cisco wins large UCS deals, everything else will come along for the ride. If not, everything else will be challenged.
5. HP. If HP develops or acquires high-end networking equipment and new enterprise boss Dave Donatelli can instill an EMC-like sales culture at HP, Cisco will have its hands full.
Innovation, comodification, and competition are at the heart of the tech industry. Most industry leaders face these challenges from day one but Cisco through a combination of skill, luck, and lack of true competitors was able to tap dance around these pressures for a long time but no longer. Over the next few years, Cisco will be challenged like never before. It will certainly be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
Tags: Cisco Systems, Citrix, Dell, DISA, EMC, Ethernet switching, Extreme Networks, F5 Networks, HP, IBM, Juniper Networks, Riverbed Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
First, full disclosure. I’ve worked with Extreme Networks (EXTR) for a long time. That said, I was saddened to see that the company announced a re-organization this week and laid off 70 people.
At this point, Extreme Networks’ market cap is less than $200 million so the obvious questions is: Why isn’t someone buying the company? I wish I knew because it seems like a steal to me. Yes, Extreme Networks is small compared to other vendors but the company has a strong operating system, core to edge networking coverage, and some unique functionality that eases network operations. Oh and by the way, Extreme Networks offers high-end networking gear at near commodity networking prices.
The logical suitor in my view is HP (HPQ). HP ProCurve networking has tons of momentum but lacks a high-end aggregation and/or core switch. Purchase Extreme Networks and that problem goes away.
In spite of the setback, Extreme continues to do well in vertical industries like education and hospitality. I hope that Extreme can ultimately benefit from the re-organization and emerge stronger or end up somewhere where its innovation and feistiness are appreciated.
Tags: Ethernet switching, Extreme Networks, HP, Networking Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
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