Pica8 CEO proclaims new era of networking

PALO ALTO, USA: At a forum held today for institutional investors and technologists, Pica8 CEO and co-founder James Liao told attendees that he expects Software Defined Networking (SDN) to soon leave the ranks of disruptive technologies as more organizations realize the benefits resulting from having the unprecedented ability to personalize their data center infrastructure characteristics to best answer their specific applications while driving down costs.

Speaking on the Next-Generation Switching panel discussion at the J.P. Morgan SDN Forum, Liao provided insight into how SDN will serve as one of the primary catalysts for the personalization of solutions that he expects will characterize the next generation of networking.

To create solutions that are specific to their demanding application needs, Liao told attendees that cloud providers are already looking closely at technology that decouples hardware and software, resulting in greater flexibility with reduced implementation and operational costs. Liao added that the economics of SDN will also soon move beyond mere intrigue to real operations as more cloud providers, data centers and Web services organizations begin to report on the ROI resulting from deploying open platforms that leverage Debian Linux and programming APIs for use across commoditized bare-metal switches.

Liao told attendees: "Networking infrastructure needs a programmable framework on top of Linux," Liao told attendees. We provided Debian Linux as the base for our operating system, which provides a rich toolset for users to develop applications. On top of Linux, more importantly, we have built a platform for users to control the traffic and enable the features embedded in the switch silicon," he said.

"I see similarities to the early days of the PC paradigm shift when Microsoft delivered not only an OS but also a business application platform across commoditized PCs that consumers and developers alike can personalize to best fit their respective needs," Liao added. "In the networking space, I see Pica8 delivering value in a similar model to Microsoft by leveraging SDN to create fundamental change that is eventually universally accepted."