Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Top Telcos Join Facebook Open Source Hardware Project (thestack.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the joining-the-club dept.

An anonymous reader sends word about the latest telcos to join Facebook's Open Compute Project. The Stack reports: "A new wave of communications companies has joined Facebook's non-profit Open Compute Project (OCP), including AT&T, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom and South Korea's SK Telecom, as the movement seeks to share innovative hardware designs and drive down costs in the telecom arena. An OCP sub-section focused entirely on telecom requirements has been set up to look into servers and networking efficiency in the field. As one of the largest hardware buyers, telcos will provide a significant new market for the project, alongside its successful data center efforts.

18 comments

  1. Reserved Word by freeze128 · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry, we already have an "OCP", and Officer Alex Murphy can tell you how well that worked out.

    1. Re:Reserved Word by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      Can't wait to see their logo. Can you imagine Hollywood vs Telecoms+Facebook? That's a lawsuit everyone on Slashdot would like to see happen.

    2. Re:Reserved Word by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      It's not about the lawyers. It's about two giants we hate, fighting one another.

    3. Re:Reserved Word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love this. An empty meaningless project derived to create news headlines. I mean really? WTF would coms-companies be the worthwhile partner?

      No, they never have really contributed in this area before. If anything they resell junk created by Huawei or some TSMC rebranded company out of Shanghai. Not to mention where other acquisitions or subsidiaries of AT&T and Verizon that lie in wait for anything good to come out of it.

      But it certainly wont answer the "What if Google or Apple pulled FB from the App store scenario". This will just be like HTC One all over again for these guys. They came, they tried, they got stiffed by the partner(s) and failed.

  2. Translation: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sucks to be Dell and/or HP...

    1. Re:Translation: by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      Some, but it mostly sucks to be a telecom switch manufacturer like Alcatel-Lucent-Nokia. Surprised Digium didn't jump in at the same time.

    2. Re:Translation: by Shatrat · · Score: 1

      This product does not even remotely compete with anything Nokia makes, which is specialized network hardware, software and solutions.
      This is generic x86 server hardware with a clever form factor, not IP/MPLS, DWDM, OTN, LTE, GPON et cetera with very expensive specialized ASICs and expensive specialized software.

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    3. Re:Translation: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The telecom industry is moving towards Network Function Virtualization, which means "virtual machine" versions of specialist telecoms hardware running on Intel based server hardware. This is a push from companies like AT&T trying to cut hardware costs.

      Google
      Affirmed Networks --- Maker of a compact virtualized Enhanced Packet Core
      Metaswitch Networks -- Makers of Perimeta, a virtualized session boarder controller and Project Clearwater an Open Source IMS switch

      These are just two of the upstarts looking to make Telecom Equipment a software business.

    4. Re: Translation: by MatthewDuggan · · Score: 1

      Agreed Avaya is the only traditional switch provider who are still making any money really.

  3. Costs, but... by jelabarre · · Score: 2

    > ...as the movement seeks to share innovative hardware designs and drive down costs in the telecom arena...
          .
    Is it coincidence they talk about reducing *costs*, but fail to mention reducing *prices*?

  4. Mark Jewberg at it again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whatever it takes to harvest more data from its users. This is why I use Diaspora!!

  5. How will this help the following by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oppressed woman in tech, Black people living in the hood, Various oppressed racial minorities...So if it doesn't, why the fuck do I care about selfish tech helping selfish tech extend white privilege?

    1. Re:How will this help the following by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find it strange that everywhere black people live en masse is called "the hood". If everywhere *becomes* "the hood" because you've moved in, sounds to me like it's not a white-person problem.

  6. it's _NOT_ open source hardware by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    don't let the name confuse you, the Open Compute Project is not open source hardware! the Open Compute Project is a set of specifications for form factors intended for use in data centers. it would be like declaring an "Open Desktop Project" and then publishing a spec for the ATX and ITX form factors. sure, you could make a case and people could make motherboards for it but it's not open source, it's just a physical specification.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:it's _NOT_ open source hardware by Wootery · · Score: 1

      Correct.

      'Open compute' seems to be about publishing Facebook's techniques to run a large server-farm.

      Perhaps it's meant to remind us of OpenStack, but it's certainly nothing to do with FOSS hardware.

      'thestack.com' is clearly garbage.

    2. Re:it's _NOT_ open source hardware by DriveDog · · Score: 1

      Then this is way too boring for me to comment on...