Dumping Cisco for open-source

The open-source movement, which has long made inroads into corporations via Linux and other enterprise-level software, now has a potentially bigger target in its cross hairs: the PBXs and network routers from companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. that form the basis of networking infrastructure.

For now, the movement is largely limited to small and midsize organizations and is focused around the Asterisk open-source private branch exchange and Vyatta open-source routers. Cisco and other old-time networking vendors certainly aren't yet shaking in their boots over it. But it's a growing movement that they ignore at their own peril; lower-cost, higher-function technologies have a way of replacing existing architecture far faster than vendors realize, open-source vendors say.

As you might expect, whether open-source PBXs and routers are superior to their proprietary cousins is a controversial issue. The small and midsize enterprises that have chucked their proprietary PBXs and routers for open-source systems say the new systems offer similar functionality with more flexibility and lower costs than proprietary systems. Proprietary providers, however, question whether open-source vendors offer adequate levels of support and whether those who buy them have the technical expertise needed to install and maintain the systems.