Sean Michael Kerner

The WAN Optimization marketplace will continue to include Cisco. That’s the official word from Cisco, in response to industry speculation that the networking giant was planning on exiting the business. At the core of Cisco’s WAN Optimization efforts is the WAAS (Wide Area Application Services) set of technologies which include both software and hardware solutions. […]

The whole concept of Software Defined Networking (SDN) is about abstracting hardware to enable new types of networking flows. While a lot of the early discussion around SDN has focused on routers and switches, SDN goes much further. It’s a concept that has many uses, including the ability to help the growing Web Content Optimization […]

IBM is introducing a new class of next-generation Intrusion Prevention System hardware appliances. The IBM Security Network Protection XGS 5000 is first in the new product family that aims to go beyond what IBM’s traditional IPS devices have provided to date, with a deeper and more integrated level of threat intelligence. The XGS series is […]

The movement toward more fluid and flexible Software Defined Networking (SDN) constructs is alive and well. Today Oracle became the latest vendor to jump into the space by way of an acquisition. Oracle announced its intention to acquire Xsigo for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in the fall of 2012. Xsigo […]

Software Defined Networking and Cloud computing are two of the biggest trends in networking today. They are now both coming together in the Floodlight 0.85 release. Floodlight is an open source Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller, backed by networking startup Big Switch. The new 0.85 release will now integrate with the open source OpenStack cloud […]

Ixia is a company long associated with network load testing. And the loads that Ixia tests for are now expanding, with the acquisition of security vendor BreakingPoint Systems. Ixia buying network security capabilities Ixia is paying $160 million in cash for BreakingPoint and the deal is set to close in the third quarter of 2012. […]

By 2016, Cisco forecasts that 61 percent of all global Internet traffic will be mobile. In order to help facilitate the wireless shift new hardware is likely needed and that’s where the ASR 5500 platform comes into play. ASR 5500 based on Starent tech Today Cisco announced the ASR 5500, the first new Cisco platform […]

The OpenFlow open source protocol for software defined networking (SDN) took a big step forward today with the approval of the OpenFlow 1.3.0 specification. OpenFlow switches enable more control OpenFlow 1.3.0 introduces new features that enable network administrators to have more control over their network deployments. The new specification is also important as it is […]

The spanning tree protocol is a long standing standard for networking that has come under fire in recent years. Spanning tree doesn’t meet the demands of cloud, i.e., scale, and it doesn’t deliver the latency characteristics that many companies want from large multi-chassis networking deployments. It’s a challenge that was debated this week, during a […]

While some networking vendors aspire to go public in an IPO, others have decided that staying private is a better way to go. One such networking vendor is Network Instruments (NI), which is being acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Full financial terms of the deal are not being publicly disclosed. The deal is […]

Building out an enterprise network often involves including multiple networking hardware vendors as a way to leverage risk. According to a new study by Deloitte Consulting, Multivendor network architectures, TCO, and operational risk, having multiple vendors isn’t necessarily a good thing and, in fact, could increase your overall risk. Deloitte is advocating for single vendor […]

2011 has been a challenging year for Cisco. The company has had to layoff staff and restructure in an effort to remain competitive in an increasingly volatile marketplace. During Cisco’s 2011 Financial Analyst Meeting on Tuesday, Cisco CEO John Chambers assured analysts that Cisco is changing. Chambers stressed that Cisco is focused on driving innovation […]