Today, open source software plays an increasingly important role in multiple fields in modern commercial IT, such as servers, databases, and even cloud computing [Note]. Vendors such as Red Hats, Canonical are trying to marry open source guidelines to a profitable business model. Red Hat is the first company in open source as business, the company's 2012 revenue exceeded $ 1 billion for the first time.
So what about the network? Why has there been an alternative to open source networks yet?
In this regard, experts pointed out that there are many reasons, including the challenges that will bring many companies, may be eaten by our own customers, or to manage non-orthodox networks in an orthodox way to bring huge complexity, etc. Wait.
Giant shadow
Obviously, most of the enterprises in most enterprise technology are very powerful, any new enterprises in the network have to face competition from Cisco. Within a global scale, the share of Cisco switches is between 65% and 70%, and the share of the company's router is as high as 80%, and the share of safety equipment is 18%. Idc pointed out that this is still in the absolute leader in the field of peers.
451 Research Company analyst Peter Christy pointed out that not only, Cisco is also doing well in your users.
Christy said: "If you go to Cisco's users, you will find that these users don't take Cisco to avoid the proliferation of monopoly companies, but have the ability to help them achieve the best technical suppliers of success."
Therefore, if other companies want to provide a production network, they must compete with Cisco, but this is obviously not easy. Although it is not easy, but not prevent some companies from stopping the adventure, such as Brocade acquires open source network software manufacturer Vyatta in 2012. At the same time, this does not mean that Cisco can maintain a permanent advantage in the industry with its excellent hardware products.
Neela Jacques is an executive director of the OpenDayLight project, OpenDaylight is a collaborative organization that develops open source network software. Jacques pointed out that some expensive dedicated hardware may not be worthless.
Jacques said: "In some cases, there is huge innovation and differentiation. For example, you spent $ 100,000 to buy a box, but it really can solve the problem you can't solve with other methods? Especially It is in some markets, these expensive boxes may actually have no help. "
Jacques says, usually, network hardware is from a unknown Chinese small manufacturer ODM, and then pre-installed a network operating system by a professional manufacturer, and finally sells five to ten times higher than its cost. .
"People have been looking for such a business, it will say: 'You wait, we are designing the open source version of the network operating system, you can get the same SKU in the enterprise environment." Jacques said.
Christy pointed out that three of the four major cloud computing vendors - Amazon, Facebook, and Google, Microsoft is still not in - all created their own web box. Even the hardware supplier Riverbed pointed out that commercial hardware will be the future trend.
"If they can create the hardware you want, but also adjust it at will, why should I buy the same thing from Cisco?" Christy asked.
Tricky problem
John Michelsen, Chief Technology Officer of CA Technologies, pointed out that even if you want to create a wide range of performance management frameworks, such as OpenNMs, because it is very difficult to face.
Michelsen said: "This is really a difficult problem, there are many things to solve, and the market is in constant changing."
The most famous of UNIX philosophy - "Writing procedures, just do one thing and do it", and the problem here is that the extensive network management and performance optimization system is multi-functional system according to definitions. .
Michelsen said that CA's application performance management products are capable of monitoring eight different parts in the network. He said: "In multiple different fields, you must create an integrated combination with deep scientific integration. Because monitoring in every different field has to be implemented by its own scientific projects."
Eat by big customers
Christy said that despite philosophical and logical issues, open source technology is still an important part of the network, but it is just in a very low level.
Big companies are generally purchased from some small businesses. They will strictly implement the contract terms around the code, which means that small businesses must provide open source code replica of their products to make judicial preservation. In this way, if the small businesses are closed, large companies can continue to use these products and services.
In principle, open source can avoid this series of troubles. At the same time (+ this WeChat NetworkWorldWeixin), open source can also provide a collaborative development method for companies in the same industry, and don't worry that they are accused.
However, this also means that open source services may be swallowed in some way by some large companies in the network. Some of the main, early adopters of open source network technology, have many very professional open source technologies, which is difficult to make products for sale, so they often be acquired by large customers for their own use.
Christy said: "In general, the biggest customers can self-support, but will not conduct business operations."
The same open source code, advanced programming talents in the enterprise can be free viewed and repaired, which will also be conducive to business to commercial hardware transformation.
Only large companies can play
However, it is obvious that every company has a large number of development elites like Facebook or Google. Conversely, the hosted service model that is not inserted is still generally.
Christy said: "In the field of network, there is a greater power than routine use Linux than routine users, allowing suppliers to integrate patch, and operate the entire network."
Jacques pointed out that the low-level survival phenomenon in the open source is very serious, and ultimately, its diversified survival may attract some small users.
Open source is an important cornerstone of network management technology, but it lacks a core platform, so open source is not a chance to develop to the application layer.
Jacques said: "We can look at the various problems encountered in the development process. For those who run the server, if Linux can embed a bus, mobile phone and home security system, then it will be Quite reliable. I think you can see a very similar process in the network because you can't have an open source application on a patented platform. "
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