It was mentioned at the 8K CC that Cisco might at some point in the future use a version of Tornado for IOS. If I understand this correctly it would mean that at least Cisco would have uniformity across it's development environments but not it's OSs. Would this solve Cisco's conundrum or would it just be a band-aid to get them by.
The problem for Cisco is that VxWorks is just the lowest level of IP Cisco would need to migrate over. The trends are toward vastly more software complexity, in the form of layers of third party IP as well as additional vertical add-ons provided by WIND, such as TMS or RouterWare or Epilogue protocols and capabilities. Cisco has equivalent IP to match most of this and then some, but its different and its complex. This suggests that migrating acquired software to Cisco in-house software will continue to be impractical, even with Tornado on IOS.
On the other hand, if all the verticals are brought along as well, then the migration would be easier but defeating. If everything but the OS is supplied by WIND and 3rd parties, why would Cisco bother supplying the lowest-value component in the value chain, the OS? In that case, why port over anything?
Probably the main benefit to Cisco of embracing WIND's tools is to obviate the necessity of migrating core products to Tornado and integrated verticals, breathing life into IOS.
Because Cisco and WIND are working so closely together on the edge and perhaps elsewhere, the most likely outcome is a merging of the IP under the Tornado umbrella. Its actually pretty simple if you think about it. Cisco must get its IP to the edge, if only to keep pressure on enterprise and ISPs to continue using Cisco network equipment to be compatible. If WIND is the mechanism to get to the edge, then Cisco must enable its IP to be used with Tornado and other verticals, like TMS.
Intel's announcement that its new DSL modem was jointly developed with Cisco provides confirmation that Cisco is more concerned about getting its IP to the edge than being the direct provider of edge equipment.
Allen |
