Frederic Martin's List: cisco

• During Cisco’s Analyst’s Conference call last week, CEO John Chambers talked about virtualization, how it is becoming a reality not only in data centers but “going all the way to our homes.”
• What is Virtualization in the Home?
• In essence, virtualization means being able to find and use an object (for example, a database, a movie, or an MP3 file) even though you don’t have a copy of it locally.
• o use a simple example, consider Amazon.com and books.
• hen you conduct a search for a book on Amazon’s website, the program examines a database containing all the information regarding the books it knows about and creates a list of all the copies available with specific information about each copy.
• The key tenet of virtualization is that the location of an object does not matter; access is ensured as if the object is stored locally.
• There are already standards in place to assist with these “connected home” virtualization services. Two examples are UPnP and DLNA. UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) allows devices to discover each other on the home network. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) allows those devices to share media across the network. These standards will soon start showing up as standard features of new connected media devices.
• In principle, these standards should help make it very easy for consumers to access their digital media. I have a DLNA server loaded on one of my computers and, with no other action on my part, I was able to easily browse and consume the media on that computer on my TV through my PS3.
• Cisco and the Home
• Cisco’s intention to establish a branded presence in the digital home is widely known, and the company is working aggressively to deliver a new set of connected devices aimed at the consumer market.
• Today, for example, Cisco offers a Home Media Hub, a platform that handles automatic backup of all the media it can find on the network and allows consumption of that media from any browser-enabled device both inside and outside the home.
• Within the next year, Cisco’s consumer device strategy will become clearer as the company rolls out a host of new connected CE platforms.
• With their Linksys products and Scientific Atlanta set-top boxes all sporting the Cisco labels, it is obvious Cisco intends to become a household name.
• When combined with its wide-area offerings, Cisco is building a formidable end-to-end network by which consumers can access their media regardless of device, location, or network (what TDG has termed “quantum access”). Virtualization in the home is thus key to Cisco’s long-term vision.
• Clearly Cisco has its eyes on the “new network edge” and the emerging battlefield within the digital home. Welcome to the human network indeed!

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