An exciting time for data center networking

All kinds of vendors are getting into the data center networking game, trying to be the one-stop shop for all of your data center needs. But what will that mean for you in the long run?

Many attribute Cisco's entry into the blade server market as a watershed moment. This was not simply a product tacked on to the end of Cisco's line. This was not even just a server battle brewing between Cisco and big server vendors HP and IBM. This was the beginning of a war for the heart and soul of the data center, which in turn is the heart and soul of many organizations' IT infrastructure.

As such, it's bigger than Cisco. That moment, when Cisco introduced the Unified Computing System, was simply the most conspicuous shift. 

Network World this week put the contest in terms of a horse race, complete with odds on which vendors have the best chances of prevailing. That story package attempts to put everything that has happened into perspective, so you can see where each vendor is coming from and can guess where they might be going. Cisco is just one of four vendors that seem to have the best chance of doing well - the others are HP, IBM and VMware.

While all of this is interesting to watch, I wonder how many IT shops are ready to bet on any one particular horse - especially now, as we struggle to get out of an economic slump. And even if money weren't so tight, would you want to put all of your eggs in one basket?

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.