The Proof Is in The Facebook Data Center Pudding

In case you missed it, Wired just exposed the elephant in the room with last week’s article on the next generation Facebook data center.

For years, anyone who’s had to build out or run a network has handed over large sums of money to the networking hardware titans, without the freedom to choose what to run on that hardware. But I’m sure if you’re someone who placed one of those orders, the thought crossed your mind if this was always going to be the norm.

Every time before you clicked or signed on that dotted line, you wondered whether it’s worth buying from the incumbents and playing in their locked-in world. Maybe deep down you had some burning desire to break away, but were afraid to stray from the blue chip way of life.

I feel your pain and it’s okay because we all want to maximize the value of our dollar. That’s why we all shop for the best choice and at the best price point; otherwise, we will just wait and buy another day.

I mean, you have the freedom to buy the servers you want, so why not have the freedom to buy the network gear that Continue reading