Think in terms of high density blade servers for virtualization Last week, 20-somethings on Wall Street were buzzing about self-serving rumors that IBM would buy Brocade Networks. Well that didn’t happen (and I don’t think it ever will) but IBM did make a networking acquisition when it scooped up Blade Networks today. Terms of this deal were not disclosed.Why Blade and not Brocade? Several reasons:1. IBM anticipates increasingly dense blade server sales. ESG Research indicates a general trend from rack-mounted to blade servers. Why? Today, an average server hosts between 5-10 VMs. As this ratio substantially increases over the next 2-3 years, IT managers will need blade server flexibility and manageablity to cope with scale and complexity. Blade Networks provides another piece for tight integration between blades, virtual switches, and physical switches. 2. Blade Networks runs JUNOS. I don’t think IBM cares about Blade’s top-of-rack switches. Rather than own this piece, it can now plug its dense blade servers into Juniper data center top-of-rack, aggregation, and core switches. Lots of form factors and the chance to leverage Juniper’s deep commitment toward flattening the network with its 3-2-1 initiative and the ultra-secret “Project Stratus.” 3. The price was right. With 3Com and ProCurve in tow, HP has been pretty public about its intention to push Blade Networks aside. This really left IBM as the only logical place for Blade Network investors to turn. My guess is that the acquisition price was fair but not overly generous.IBM is also probably anticipating a technology change in the HPC market as 40 and 100 gigabit Ethernet replaces Infiniband. Once again, Blade Networks will provide IBM a turnkey blade solution for scientific computing and smart planet analytics. Blade also provides port and device consolidation for the burgeoning trend toward Ethernet-based storage. I really don’t think that IBM wants a stand-alone networking business again so an acquisition of Brocade, Extreme, Force 10, or even Juniper seems unlikely. With Blade, IBM can deliver a data center unit — complete with memory, processors, and networking/storage I/O — in a tightly-integrated can. My guess is that IBM will sell a ton of these. Related content analysis 5 things security pros want from XDR platforms New research shows that while extended detection and response (XDR) remains a nebulous topic, security pros know what they want from an XDR platform. By Jon Oltsik Jul 07, 2022 3 mins Intrusion Detection Software Incident Response opinion Bye-bye best-of-breed? ESG research finds that organizations are increasingly integrating security technologies and purchasing multi-product security platforms, changing the industry in the process. By Jon Oltsik Jun 14, 2022 4 mins Security Software opinion SOC modernization: 8 key considerations Organizations need SOC transformation for security efficacy and operational efficiency. Technology vendors should come to this year’s RSA Conference with clear messages and plans, not industry hyperbole. By Jon Oltsik Apr 27, 2022 6 mins RSA Conference Security Operations Center opinion 5 ways to improve security hygiene and posture management Security professionals suggest continuous controls validation, process automation, and integrating security and IT technologies. By Jon Oltsik Apr 05, 2022 4 mins Security Practices Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe