BradReese.Com Cisco Hardware Quotes Call Toll Free 877-549-2680 or 828-277-7272

Home About Repair Power Supplies Refurbished Blog Quick Links Site Map Contact Us

 
Brad Reese speaks out
Learn more about Brad Reese...
Archive
  Help

Aironet

Power Supplies

VoIP Gateways

Cisco Repair

Refurbished Cisco

Cisco CPQRGs

New Cisco

New HP ProCurve

Cisco Tools

Competitive Lab Tests

Tech Forums

How-to Tutorials

CCIE Gossip

Blogroll

 
View archive of Brad Reese speaks out

Subscribe to Bloggers speak out on BradReese.Com

Single-handedly, fierce Cisco competitor Arista Networks appears to have delayed Cisco's SDN initiative

"An executive move like this will delay Cisco's onePK for 6 - 12 months."

Hershey, PA:   Mon, 10/01/12 - 2:20pm    View comments

Arista NetworksCiscoIn what appears to be a coup d'etat within the critically important software-defined networking (SDN) revolution, Cisco's most fierce data center, high-performance computing and high-frequency trading network switch competitor, Arista Networks, has added Cisco's former top SDN engineering star, Tom Black, to its outstanding management team roster.

SDN CentralMatt PalmerYesterday Matt Palmer, the cofounder of network virtualization and software-defined networking (SDN) community website, SDN Central, broke the stunning SDN news:

Tom Black, Executive Leading Cisco's onePK has left to join Arista

Palmer's key takeaway:

"An executive move like this will delay Cisco's onePK for 6 - 12 months."

Tom BlackCerent CorporationAccording to Black's LinkedIn profile, he's a 13-year Cisco veteran having joined it upon Cisco's $7.2 billion acquisition of optical equipment vendor Cerent Corporation in August 1999.

As Cisco's vice president of engineering, Tom Black was responsible for Cisco's software-defined networking (SDN) initiatives such as Cisco's highly-touted One Platform Kit (onePK). onePK is and/or was supposed to deliver platform APIs, agents and controllers for programmatic access across Cisco's operating systems and hardware platforms.

RBC Capital MarketsMark SueHere's an interesting take on what appears to be Arista's SDN engineering talent coup d'etat from the always unflappable RBC Capital Markets Managing Director, Mark Sue:

"For Cisco to lead new markets such as SDNs, its important for the company to not only fund new initiatives but also keep its key talent.

"The company has a broad base of individudals, so we're confident the company will move forward, yet each departure can introduce delays in getting to market."

I believe the following confidential slide presentation will help expose Arista's SDN strategy for all to see:

Networking TAM by Segment

Arista SDN Architectural Approach

VMware Joint-Development VMworld 2012

First SDN Switch - Arista 7150

Summary

Knowledgeable sources about both Cisco and Arista are revealing:

It now appears Cisco maybe doing "unbelievably, unnatural things" in response to the fierce competition its getting from Arista Networks, for example:

  • Cisco maybe giving away its Nexus switches to keep clients from implementing Arista switches.
  • Cisco maybe giving its Nexus switches to clients with the promise of Insieme in 9-months.
  • Cisco maybe offering further life support for its 6500 switches until it gets the Insieme gear out the door.

    Note: It also now appears that Cisco might have done the same thing last year when competing against Aruba in the wireless space. Aruba appeared to be defeating Cisco's wireless products in Cisco's global 2000 customer accounts until it appeared Cisco began a strategic giveaway program. Aruba then appeared to somewhat slowdown and then stall in taking away Cisco's enterprise accounts. I mean, is it possible that when Cisco cannot win on merit, it gives its products away in order to keep competitors out of Cisco's accounts?

Finally, yet another knowledgeable source provides the following 5-key takeaways that address what appears to be the SDN strategy at Arista:
  1. It appears that the Arista EOS is the ONLY programmable, open modern Network OS, in what appears to be a key foundation for Cloud networks based on application.
  2. It appears Arista will be developing many SDN control points, examples might include LANZ, AEM, etc.
  3. It appears Arista has developed an open APIS for controller friendly solutions.
  4. If Network Virtualization/VXLANS is an important invention for scale and foundation of cloud networks, it appears that Arista is addressing it.
  5. Tom Black appears to bolster the ongoing and extensive focus on Arista's EOS/SDN, along with the following outstanding engineers:

Related podcast:

The Lippis Report: Cisco is leading the market toward Open Networking with Cisco ONE

Related story:

New Nexus 1000V Free-mium Pricing Model
 


What's your take?

Contact Brad Reese

Subscribe to Bloggers speak out on BradReese.Com

Brad's Favorite Story Picks

  1. Meet Cisco's CEO for the next 4-years
  2. Cisco CEO John Chambers' whack-a-mole successor contestants
  3. Cisco vs. ZTE, who's going to win?
  4. Cisco Nexus 3548 switch vs. Arista 7150S switch family
  5. Alleged out of control corruption within Cisco's advanced services (AS)
  6. Cisco's ADC market share declined -41% in 3-years
  7. Cisco's R&D employee headcount highest in history
  8. Percentagewise QoQ, HP's 2Q12 ethernet switch revenue gain was more than triple Cisco's
  9. The Cisco software simplification initiative
  10. For the first time ever, a Cisco product supports sFlow technology!
  11. The network device in the software-defined networking world - Mark Leary
  12. Cisco's senior vice president of global enterprise markets, Paul Mountford, has mysteriously gone missing from Cisco's website
  13. Cisco's 2Q12 videoconferencing revenue dropped -23.7% year-over-year
  14. Is Cisco's lunch about to be eaten by innovative startups?
  15. Software defined networking (SDN) advisory service
  16. First time in 10-years Cisco's FY12 research and development expense sequentially declined
  17. Cisco's leading the way in network performance monitoring with NetFlow and IPFIX - Mike Patterson
  18. Cisco's Q4'FY12 gross margin, switching, routing, collaboration, SP video and other revenue all sequentially declined
  19. It appears Cisco has been buying Twitter followers for Padmasree Warrior
  20. View the archive of Bloggers speak out on BradReese.Com
 
blog comments powered by Disqus

CCIE available Metro DC

Supplement Cisco SMARTnet Contracts

 

©2013 BradReese.Com - Home - About - Repair - Power Supplies - Refurbished - Blog - Quick Links - Site Map - Contact Us