Would you consider the Vyatta/Riverbed option instead of a remote office router?
Since last summer, we have been combining Vyatta router software and Riverbed WAN acceleration for some of our customers, but as of today the two vendors announced a deal run Vyatta on the Riverbed Steelhead. (Disclosure: I am a Riverbed reseller, but not a Vyatta reseller). Specifically Vyatta announced a deal with Riverbed to add the Vyatta Subscription Edition to the RSP Platform. So what you can do is now run a router, firewall and VPN on your Riverbed Steelhead and remove your current router. Sound like a good idea?
We have one customer who did this already and found it a less expensive option than upgrading aging Cisco routers (disclosure, I am a Cisco reseller, too, but I don’t resell its WAN acceleration devices.) The customer also saved the yearly Smartnet charge that all customers hate to pay.
Vyatta has been an up-and-comer for the last year. A few years ago, it hired the Tolly Group to run its products in head-to-head tests against Cisco. Naturally, you need to take such tests with a grain of salt, but I still found some of the results interesting. Now that they have moved into a new area with Riverbed, I think it can only get better for them.
As for Riverbed, this was a good move. This will separate them even more from Cisco, Blue Coat, Silver Peak and Juniper. I would guess that Cisco could respond by giving more discounts to customers for remote routers or coming up with a version of their own router from a virtual machine on the WAAS. I have been wondering why they have not done this yet? They really could have dealt Riverbed a blow many years ago by doing this, but then they would have hurt hardware sales.
Would be interesting, too, of Cisco tried to buy Vyatta.
I think Vyatta will be a bigger story in the coming year and that, for customers who are already using Riverbed Steelheads, Cisco will have some stiff competition for selling branch office routers. What do you think? Would you consider the Vyatta/Riverbed option now?
