NEP/OEM BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES FLYING DRAGON 飛 龍

To continue to enjoy the apps and features of Web 2.0 we need to create Network 2.0. I say that because the next generation of applications is inextricably linked to broadband network capacity. Traditional service providers need to roll out the next generation of data networks and data centers to achieve OPEX and CAPEX synergies. And then there’s the question of who pays in terms of deploying such infrastructure?

As the industry figures out the best way to move forward, the network struggles to cope with the expansion of broadband services together with the massive increase in Web 2.0 traffic. Capacity Management solutions act as a band aid to extend the life of the existing network architecture but fail to offer a long-term solution.

The network is a bit like a highway. The M25 for example is a highway in the UK that circles London. It was built in the 1980’s and just after completion it was known as the largest car park in Europe. They have made several upgrades including widening concrete bridges, installing speed cameras and traffic flow systems, but I can tell you first hand that it’s still the biggest car park in Europe! The Network is in exactly the same position. As we build more bandwidth and as more users sign up to new services, the pipes simply fill up with web 2.0 data (social networking, user-generated content, video etc). And we haven't even broken the tip of the iceberg. Just wait until the enterprise market embraces 2.0 and Video.

In the meantime, service providers are adapting and acquiring high performance computing environments that are highly scalable and green in order to manage today’s demand and tomorrow’s networking environments.The next generation of data centers and networks will need to provide solutions to this or they will simply not be able to maximize returns on their investment for the shareholder if they are unable to secure Web 2.0 customers. These solutions include: Power - efficiency, Ping - scalability, Pipe - provisioning.

The market, just like the road system, wants to have quality roads, safer roads, open roads and is willing to pay for such improvements. Sun’s approach to providing a solution involves open standards: the tight coupling of Solaris to CPU’s, either on SPARC® or or , the open middleware environment, open developer tools, open storage tools, client technology and the ability to choose the best application to run on other third party operating systems.

Current network architectures will evolve as an extension of high performance computer data centers and these data centers will become an extension of next generation networks.

Sun is an open standards company and history demonstrates that open roads lead to faster growth!