Cisco reportedly readying XML switch

Cisco is expected to enter the emerging market of XML network gear, as the company reportedly is preparing a device that can accelerate XML and other message-based traffic.

The XML product is being developed by a Cisco project called AON, or application-oriented networking, according to press reports last week, with products expected to surface in the second quarter. The technology would speed traffic for applications that rely heavily on message-based communications, such as Web services applications that use XML, or other application message formats such as IBM's MQ technology.

Cisco isn't commenting on its plans, but the idea of tying its network gear more closely to message-based application traffic is something the vendor has talked about publicly.

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Cisco is expected to enter the emerging market of XML network gear, as the company reportedly is preparing a device that can accelerate XML and other message-based traffic.

The XML product is being developed by a Cisco project called AON, or application-oriented networking, according to press reports last week, with products expected to surface in the second quarter. The technology would speed traffic for applications that rely heavily on message-based communications, such as Web services applications that use XML, or other application message formats such as IBM's MQ technology.

Cisco isn't commenting on its plans, but the idea of tying its network gear more closely to message-based application traffic is something the vendor has talked about publicly.

"We have an endless opportunity to migrate features from operating systems and applications into the network," said Charles Giancarlo, Cisco CTO, while speaking at the vendor's December 2004 analyst conference. "Today we do packet-level routing. Where we really see ourselves going is toward full message-based routing of things like XML messages or MQ messages."

This idea plays off the growth of service-oriented architectures (SOA ) - a method of using a common messaging protocol to tie together disparate applications and systems, such as legacy applications, with newer ERP and CRM systems. Web services technology, such as Microsoft .Net and Sun's Java Enterprise System Suite, use XML as this common protocol. In a survey last year of 473 corporate IT buyers done by The Yankee Group, 75% said they planned to buy hardware and software and hire programmers for implementing an SOA.

Cisco would be entering a market where several start-ups have established themselves. Conformative, DataPower and Sarvega make network appliances and software that can quickly parse XML messages as they come in, redirect traffic, apply QoS settings or speed the processing of encrypted XML data.

One analyst says the proliferation of software that communicates via XML or another messaging scheme requires switching and routing that can accommodate the bulkier network payload these applications produce.

"It's no longer good enough for [a piece of network equipment] to know what IP address or what TCP port an application is trying to reach," says Ron Schmelzer, a senior analyst at Zapthink. This is because all XML traffic is IP based and looks the same, even to more advanced Layer 4-7 switching gear. "If you want to secure XML traffic, or apply QoS or change message headers, you actually have to process the message itself," he says.

Schmelzer estimates that the market for XML acceleration technology is about $30 million to $50 million - minuscule, compared with the $1-billion-plus switching, VoIP and security businesses Cisco deals in. But Cisco's entrance could give the emerging XML market a boost by legitimizing the sector.

"There are companies that are waiting to see what the bigger players are going to do in this market," he says. A Cisco XML offering could be attractive if the vendor can integrate the technology into a switch or router via a service blade - as it has done with VoIP, VPNs, wireless LANs and other technologies. "Some people don't want another appliance on their network."