Top 10 shifts in chips, comms

Next big thing in networking: SDN
Two big stories established software-defined networking as the next big disruptive thing in communications.

VMWare acquired SDN startup Nicera for an eye-popping $1.26 billion, echoing the go-go days of the dotcom boom. The deal was intended as a wake-up call that virtualization is finally coming to the network, upsetting traditional router and switch makers and their ecosystems. Comms giants who still believe SDN is not yet ready for prime time are betting Nicera becomes a big write down on the VMWare books some day.

Google went all in, disclosing its work on homegrown routers and software for a private wide area network based on OpenFlow, the most popular version of SDN. Pundits spent most of the year trying to minimize the search giant’s work and support for the technology which is admittedly confined to a non-viral sandbox of Google’s vast and influential playground.

Related stories:

Google describes its OpenFlow network

7 thoughts on VMWare's $1.26B bid for Nicira


Ten shifts in chips, comms:

• A down year
• The shift to the mobile cloud
• The rise of the mega data center
• Moore’s Law slows
• The winners: ARM
• MIPS on the ropes
• More winners: Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm
• Roads diverge for Wintel
• The Losers: Elpida, Nokia, AMD, Renesas, STM, TI
• The next big thing in networking: SDN