Facebook’s Ethernet switch should be making Cisco worried!
Over the past few years, Facebook has been working on creating unique and innovative data center switches and switch software. The social media giant Facebook announced that is closer to passing Cisco’s dominance in the networking switch market. Facebook’s VP of infrastructure, Jason Taylor, made some announcements about Facebook’s progress on its new kind of computer network:
1. Facebook’s Ethernet switch, The Wedge, is now for sale through Accton.
Accton Technology Corporation is a technology company located in Taiwan that specializes in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of Ethernet switches.
2. People who buy the switch will have two options for software vendors, including Cumulus and Big Switch, both direct competitors of Cisco.
3. Facebook is now giving away the software that was invented to run on the Wedge using Broadcom chips…for FREE!
These chips eliminate the need for additional devices because they provide the logic for sending and receiving data on a telecommunications network.
4. Facebook is also giving away the software invented to monitor the switches and sends alerts if there are issues.
This is under a project called Open BMC, which allows Facebook to offer technology that enables users to add on their own networking hardware.
5. Facebook has developed it so that anyone can create a customer Ethernet hardware switch.
Broadcom has entered into an agreement with Facebook’s Open Compute Project to open-source some of its networking chips. A big trend occurring in the industry is to phase out customer application-specific integrated circuit’s, (ASIC) such as the type made by Cisco and go towards standard ones, mostly from Broadcom. This allows Facebook, and others, to offer network switches inexpensively.
How does this benefit Facebook?
Facebook isn’t making any money of off the Wedge. Rather, by making the specification ‘open’ it hopes that other Open Compute Project members will constantly make changes and improve the switch. Thanks to OPC, Taylor reports that Facebook has saved over $2 billion!
What does Cisco have to say about all of this?
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, says that he is not worried. He believes that Facebook’s plans will not have a major affect on the company’s dominance in the $23 billion Ethernet switch market. Chambers says that Cisco is going to “crush” Facebook’s networking plans because Cisco offers more than just network switches, such as computer security.
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