[irq]: techie interrupted

At this point in time, I believe the path to networking future isn’t going to be defined by hardware, fabrics, or debates over tunnels or overlays. Network professionals need software tools that give network visibility, reporting, and operational confidence.

I don’t really care about VXLAN, or OpenSwitch, or whatever the latest “blah blah cloud” technology is this week. These are all good enough solutions to certain problems. Frankly, VXLAN looks like DLSW for SNA to me, and I tend to think that we will regret tunnels and overlays just like we did DLSW in 2001 because they create state where it’s not needed and where it’s proven to work badly.

What I want is the vendors to deliver me management tools that provide visibility and operations. And that doesn’t include OpenView, or Tivoli, or BMC Patrol are any of the tools that we have today. They are, all, well proven failures. Give me that discussion in 2012. Don’t patronise me with “buy more stuff”.