80 likes | 207 Vues
On November 4th, 2008, Perry Brunelli discussed the evolving landscape of network standards and reliability. He highlighted that code upgrades are no longer the primary cause of outages and emphasized the need for synchronization in IOS upgrades. Brunelli pointed out the advantages of strong vendor relationships, such as direct access to engineers and bulk order discounts, while also critiquing established market leaders for their reluctance to innovate. He raised critical questions about the value of standardizing on commodity equipment and the necessity for innovation in niche markets.
E N D
Thoughts on Network Standards Perry Brunelli November 4th, 2008
Network Reliability Improved • Code upgrades no longer #1 cause of outages • Lab to test new IOS releases • Synchronization of IOS upgrades • Expertise in hardware / IOS • One throat to choke
Best of Breed Only a Point in Time • Notion that technologies eventually converge • Cost associated with evaluation • Cookie cutter approach scales • Shift operating expenses to capital • AANTS one example
Benefits of Vendor Relationship • More likely to listen to our concerns • Annual briefing at Cisco offices • Direct access to engineers and product managers • Discounts negotiated on bulk orders • Technical support on-site • Reality is that we aren’t single vendor and in many cases are best of breed: • 3750 switches, Juniper border router
Established Companies Not Nimble • Market leader less inclined to take risks • Less likely to embrace widely accepted standards • Small companies better suited to fill niche requirements • Need to innovate not as great
Standardization Not Real • Cisco model is to acquire companies • New routers have four different OS’s • SAN solution runs a different OS • Reluctance to adopt new industry open standards
Additional Comments • Cisco price point not always competitive • Is there value instandardizing on commodity equipment? • Example: wireless AP’s • How long do we wait for features and how much more are we willing to pay? • Example: iSCSI, Clusters • Does Arista have a more compelling price point than Cisco on 10G Ethernet gear?
Discussion Items • How are platform decisions made? Does this work? Should we change it? • Does the current model work? If not, how should we change it?