Still dreaming of a unified network of everything

Many in our industry have dreamed of a unified network, and we continue to close in on it. But the truth is we’ve been closing in on it for quite a long time.

It reminds me of the quest for a unified field theory or “theory of everything” in physics. Just as it is extremely difficult to come up with one theory that explains everything, so it is also difficult to come up with one network that works everywhere and meets everyone’s needs.

Ethernet is bringing us closer than ever before. As Jim Metzler and Steve Taylor write in their WAN newsletter this week, Ethernet-based services, such as the one I mentioned two weeks ago, are raising interesting prospects. What if you could just plug your Ethernet cable into the wall and everything just worked, just like plugging your phone line into a wall jack today? If Ethernet were everywhere, wouldn’t the world be much simpler?

This point made me think of ATM, and how that technology was supposed to be the great unifier. And then I thought, didn’t I write an article about how Ethernet was supplanting ATM in that role?

A quick Google search revealed that I wrote that article 10 years ago.That’s right - we have been asking the question of whether Ethernet could really be everywhere for at least a decade now.

Certainly, things like Ethernet-based WAN services are advancing that cause. So is VoIP, doing away with separate voice networks. So is the convergence happening in data center networks, with other technologies being pushed aside in favor of Ethernet for storage and data networking.

But still, it feels like there is a long way to go. And there are limits. Wireless technology may be LAN but it is not Ethernet, so that division still exists. Maybe the unified network of everything will always be just out of our grasp.

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.