After years of open source projects like Linux and MySQL taking share from proprietary software companies, hardware makers like Cisco and Juniper get to experience the heart-stopping terror of open source hardware hitting the market.
If Vyatta gets to market, of course. Given the favorable attention given to the company by Business 2.0 senior writer Om Malik at CNNMoney’s website, Vyatta could be poised to make some waves.
The Vyatta router is poised for a beta release, the article noted. Based on the XORP project, the device runs on a pair of Intel chips. Most importantly, the router would cost about a fifth of a comparable name-brand device.
Malik detailed a bit of Vyatta’s history. He noted the creators of the software became frustrated with the process of recommending changes to Cisco for its router software. Eventually, they chose to implement XORP and include support for the newest technologies, like VoIP and on-demand video.
So far, the response from Cisco and Juniper has been a yawn. That may be from confidence in the support they can offer to Vyatta’s target market of midsized businesses. Vyatta will have to convince the market it can deliver technical support to its users as needed.
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David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
