Cisco is planning to release a new network operating system that will allow users to run its most sophisticated networking features on older and lower-cost Cisco routers and switches.
What is interesting about the tech is that it could disrupt Cisco’s networking hardware business as it will only run on Cisco switches.
Dubbed Lindt, it will enable Cisco customers to move away from switches based on proprietary high-performance Cisco chips to Cisco hardware that works with lower-cost chips.
The move is seen as part of Cisco becoming less hardware focused and some of its partners think it is rather a good time to do that.
Cisco partners have always had the problem of linking software to the hardware so that they always had to renew the software with the product.
Having the flexibility of owning the software and having more flexibility of changing the platform underneath that makes a more likely sale.
Solution providers said Cisco selling stand-alone software could make Cisco a more valuable company in the long run.
Cisco has been putting networking functions on more platforms, including virtual switches for VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualized and private cloud environments.
It has been also setting up more software-defined networking technology which removes the management layer and switching technology from physical switches to move the networking functionality into the network itself.
