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Your Next Network Operating System Is Linux

Posted by timothy on from the it-even-runs-on-computers dept.

jrepin writes "Everywhere you look, change is afoot in computer networking. As data centers grow in size and complexity, traditional tools are proving too slow or too cumbersome to handle that expansion. Dinesh Dutt is Chief Scientist at Cumulus Networks. Cumulus has been working to change the way we think about networks altogether by dispensing with the usual software/hardware lockstep, and instead using Linux as the operating system on network hardware. In this week's New Tech Forum, Dinesh details the reasons and the means by which we may see Linux take over yet another aspect of computing: the network itself."

5 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Doesn't matter by Drewdad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Network and SAN will go (are already going) virtual the same way hardware has.

    1. Re:Doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, why don't we move all of those cables and monitors and keyboards and mice into "the cloud" too. I saw some marketing presentation which says everything can go into the cloud. I'm not sure why anyone buys computers or even pays for electricity any more... just put it all in the cloud!

  2. Already happening - slowly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Linux is already widely used on networking gear, especially fully pre-emptive variants like RT-Linux and Monta-Vista.

    It will still take considerable time to displace some of the real performance/uptime critical stuff that's done using VxWorks and QNX and a number of other proprietary systems. Many companies are sort of vendor locked and have non-portable software too and so can't change easily. There are also engineers out there who strongly believe that what the currently use is superior for things like uptime (QNX), and simplistic hard real time response (VxWorks). I'm not saying that's the case either way - I'm simply saying there are numerous industry players who won't adopt Linux for some time because they think it's too big and not good enough.

  3. Re:Cisco isn't going anywhere, yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cisco is already there...

    The heart of most of the "new" os's that Cisco is using is a modified linux kernel... I.E. NX-OS, IOS-XE, IOS-XR, CGR... Almost all the security platforms, ASA, ISE... etc...

  4. Re:2013 Year of the Linux Network by robthebloke · · Score: 5, Funny

    But all I want to know is, will sudo rm -rf / delete the internet?