VMware to acquire OpenFlow pioneer Nicira for $1.26 billion
- 23 July, 2012 21:26
- Comments
Continuing its push to virtualize all aspects of the data center, VMware is acquiring software-defined networking firm Nicira for US$1.26 billion, the companies announced Monday.
"I believe we have the same opportunity to do for networking what we've already done for servers and many other parts of the data center," Steve Herrod, VMware's CTO, wrote in a blog post about the deal.
VMware will fold Nicira's core technology, called Open vSwitch, into its own portfolio of virtual networking software, VMware said.
Nicira's software creates an abstraction layer between servers and networking gear, allowing organizations to decouple the network topology from the equipment, creating virtualized pools of networking capability. Its software supports a wide variety of network interface cards, switches, appliances, networking APIs (application programming interfaces) and fabric types.
VMware will encourage Nicira employees to continue working on open-source networking projects, it said. Some of Nicira's employees led the development of the OpenFlow software-defined networking protocol and were also involved with the OpenStack Quantum networking software.
VMware will pay $1.05 billion in cash plus $210 million of assumed unvested equity awards to purchase Nicira, which was founded in 2007 and is based in Palo Alto, California.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com
Recommended
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
- Cloud Computing for Midsize Businesses: Delivering Innovation and Efficiency
- Mobile Load - Performance Testing for Mobile Applications
- Governance For All - Empowering IT and Business Content Owners
- Mobility Apps: What every developer should know
- Hybrid IT Service Management: A Requirement for Virtualisation and Cloud Computing
-
Why change management doesn’t work
-
Larry Page wants to see your medical records
-
Dual-Persona Smartphones Not a BYOD Panacea
-
After two-year hiatus, EFF accepts bitcoin donations again
-
CIOs struggle to deliver timely mobile business apps: survey
-
Vodafone Ireland Implements World-Class Service Excellence with HP BSM
Shane Gaffney, head of IT operations explain how HP Business Service Manager solutions have helped Vodafone to transform from a reactive to a proactive IT Operations function, and to align their priorities to match the business and drive business value, delivering 300% ROI in one year. Download today. -
Deploying Flash in the Enterprise
Flash is quickly emerging as the preferred way to overcome the nagging performance limitations of hard disk drives. However, because flash comes at a significant price premium, outright replacement of HDDs with flash only makes sense in situations in which capacity requirements are relatively small and performance requirements are high. Learn how deployment approaches-including hybrid storage arrays, server flash, and all-flash arrays-that combine the performance of flash with the capacity of HDDs can be cost effective for a broad range of performance requirements. -
Hybrid IT Service Management: A Requirement for Virtualisation and Cloud Computing
When competition is tough and resources are limited, corporate leaders are depending on growing their existing capabilities in order to grow their business. Information technology can be a unique catalyst for business growth, delivering a competitive advantage when creatively applied to established and emerging problems. Read more on what trends are accelerating the value of IT.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
