VMware vs. Cisco
VMware decided to break up the happy home.... I think ultimately Cisco is going to need to give away their proprietary SDN if they want to compete with VMware. VMware is going to bake Nicira into VSphere and tell customers to go buy some inexpensive switching, which Intel and white box switch provider XYZ will be pleased to produce. They are going to start offering customers switching which is integrated with their VMware environment at about 1/4th Cisco's cost. Cisco is just trying to make it a more complex decision that "migrate and save 3/4ths your cost" by adding x86 servers, storage, telephony, anything to make it more complex than ethernet switch vs. ethernet switch. Cisco has made enemies of nearly everyone in the IT industry. I wouldn't be surprised to see HP, IBM, Oracle and, obviously, EMC line up on VMware side.