4 ms·

Compare this with Ethernet. You plug it in - and it just works. No 3com/Realtek/Intel certification required. As a user I may be shielded, but I believe there

Compare this with Ethernet. You plug it in - and it just works. No 3com/Realtek/Intel certification required. As a user I may be shielded, but I believe there are no interoperability issues between Cisco/Juniper/Brocade switchgear either. With this as the background, it's surprising to see a large crowd defending the equivalent of Ford-branded gasoline.

fastball 11y ago
Apples and oranges. Pure hardware is a lot easier to make compatible consistently than hardware+software.
- CydeWeys 11y ago
  Huh? There's a lot of software involved in wired networking. Way more than for lightbulbs, I'd suspect. And yet they all interoperate via open standards, and any vendor that tried to sell equipment that only worked with their own equipment would be laughed at of the market.
  - throwaway2048 11y ago
    Welcome to the new normal, where everything is a walled garden and a 'platform'. Pushed publicly for bullshit and spurious reasons, but privately is all about profit and control.
  - fastball 11y ago
    An ethernet cable does not contain any software. A smart lightbulb does.
    - CydeWeys 11y ago
      But now you've drawn an irrelevant comparison. The power line and socket that the smart lightbulb is connected to don't contain any software. Those are the parts that are analogous to a simple Ethernet wire (which is really just eight separate leads instead of three). The smart lightbulb itself is analogous to a router.
SixSigma 11y ago
Or you can have your Ethernet equipment certified as Carrier Ethernet https://www.mef.net/certification/equipment-certification-overview https://www.mef.net/certification/equipment-certification-ov...
CaptSpify 11y ago
Networking has also been around for a looong time and ran through those issues back in the day. Some open-standard will end up winning, but it'll take a while for the dust to settle.
xmodem 11y ago
At the ethernet layer sure, but have fun trying to run spanning tree on a mixed Cisco/Juniper/Brocade network. Switch vendors are also notorious for locking out SFP modules from other manufacturers for no reason, which is particularly annoying because there are so many different types applicable to specific situations (e.g. DWDM) and your switch manufacturer doesn't even necessarily make the ones you need. (Disclaimer: I've been out of the networking game for 4 years)

fastball 11y ago

Apples and oranges. Pure hardware is a lot easier to make compatible consistently than hardware+software.

CydeWeys 11y ago
Huh? There's a lot of software involved in wired networking. Way more than for lightbulbs, I'd suspect. And yet they all interoperate via open standards, and any vendor that tried to sell equipment that only worked with their own equipment would be laughed at of the market.
- throwaway2048 11y ago
  Welcome to the new normal, where everything is a walled garden and a 'platform'. Pushed publicly for bullshit and spurious reasons, but privately is all about profit and control.
- fastball 11y ago
  An ethernet cable does not contain any software. A smart lightbulb does.
  - CydeWeys 11y ago
    But now you've drawn an irrelevant comparison. The power line and socket that the smart lightbulb is connected to don't contain any software. Those are the parts that are analogous to a simple Ethernet wire (which is really just eight separate leads instead of three). The smart lightbulb itself is analogous to a router.

SixSigma 11y ago

Or you can have your Ethernet equipment certified as Carrier Ethernet https://www.mef.net/certification/equipment-certification-overview https://www.mef.net/certification/equipment-certification-ov...

CaptSpify 11y ago

Networking has also been around for a looong time and ran through those issues back in the day. Some open-standard will end up winning, but it'll take a while for the dust to settle.

xmodem 11y ago

At the ethernet layer sure, but have fun trying to run spanning tree on a mixed Cisco/Juniper/Brocade network. Switch vendors are also notorious for locking out SFP modules from other manufacturers for no reason, which is particularly annoying because there are so many different types applicable to specific situations (e.g. DWDM) and your switch manufacturer doesn't even necessarily make the ones you need. (Disclaimer: I've been out of the networking game for 4 years)