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ATCA vs. "Other Stuff"
So that leaves us with open-standards systems like ATCA, versus what I call “closed-standards systems” – like those from the folks over there in the Blade Stuff camp. Each option has its own positives and negatives depending on the deployment environment, but I think you’ll agree with me that ATCA is the best choice when it comes to our jobs, which of course is carrier-class infrastructure. ATCA was designed for exactly that.
I’ll put it this way: You wouldn’t send a horse doctor to do a blacksmith’s job, now would you? The veterinarian might be able make you something that looks kind of like a horse shoe, but all of us – including the horse – have enough sense know that you need the right tools to do a job right. And ATCA is definitely the right set of tools for telecom.
Snuffy: That’s for sure! If the shoe fits, wear it! Heck, this reminds me of one time when I was fixin’ to wrassle with a really ornery Radio Network Controller and that darned bugger…oh, never mind. I’ll shush up now and let you keep going.
Brian: Thanks, Snuffy – I’ll be fast.
So let’s review the key advantages of ATCA over what you’re likely to face with Blade Stuff.
ATCA: open standards – specified by PICMG based on cross-industry participation from a broad swath of experienced telecom network equipment providers; designed for central office requirements.
Blade Stuff: closed standards – each specified by an individual vendor whose strength is in business networking; originally designed for enterprise data centers but stretched to try to cover telco as well.
Snuffy: Pshaw! That’s like cattle and crows! Those two industries are totally different! Who do those Blade Stuff folks think they’re fooling?!
Brian: Indeed – and you folks in the field should know better than suits in skyscrapers that the central office environment is truly a horse of a different color. Now let’s continue.
ATCA: a healthy ecosystem – dozens of vendors supply interoperable products at all levels of the value chain spanning blades to middleware to software to systems. Choice and competition are the watchwords – just look at CP-TA, PICMG, SAF, SCOPE, etc.
Blade Stuff: an iron-fisted feudal system – subjects pay homage to the king and vow lifelong loyalty in return for protection and small plots of land on which to raise vegetables and livestock. Heaven help anyone who raises their voice in dissent.
Snuffy: Grrrr, that makes me darn tootin’ mad! Those Blade Stuff peasants deserve far better than being kept under somebody’s big thumb, however benevolent he might pretend to be. Harrumph!
Brian: Now, now, Snuffy, some folks like to be limited – we shouldn’t judge them for that. In fact, life is a whole lot simpler when you’ve got only one choice; some people really do like any color as long as it’s black.
But one of the problems with feudalism is that the king can unilaterally decide to raise taxes or change the law of the land regardless of citizens’ protests. That’s one of the many benefits of being king – not to mention the yes-man group-think that occurs when everyone is trying to please the same single boss. Alas, I wish it weren’t so… but let’s go on.
ATCA: The customer is in charge. With so many choices from so many competing suppliers, there’s bound to be a cost-effective solution available for nearly every market niche. Free will and self-guided destiny are hallmarks.
Blade Stuff: The king is in charge. The castle is closed on weekends and the toll bridge over the moat will let you cross only as long as your travel papers bear this year’s official wax seal – available for a fee, of course.
Snuffy: Fees are like fleas – I hate ‘em! We work hard during the day and I for one deserve to get some shut-eye in a bug-free bed! It makes me itchy all over just thinking about it! That Blade Stuff drives me crazy!
Brian: Me too! You folks toil day in and day out to keep telco running, and I for one think you deserve ATCA’s freedom of choice and the refreshing peace of mind that comes with it – not more worries about what the king might do next or whether some data center gear is going to withstand a 20-year flood. ATCA is purpose-built for our telecom world. You know it, I know it, and the people know it.
So those are the highlights. Like Snuffy said, this is just a refresher of some things you already knew. And I’ll make the summary even easier: ATCA was developed for the telco environment and offers a number of telco advantages. Blade Stuff was bred from birds of a different feather and really belongs in the data center.
Snuffy: Ha! That kind of rhymes! Sure makes it easy to remember where Blade Stuff should go – in the chicken coop, as far as I’m concerned! Ha!
Brian: Snuffy, I’ll leave you and the telco crew with this final thought: Data traffic and mobile broadband are growing way too fast and are much too important to have horse doctors doing ironwork. In my opinion the veterinarians ought to stay in the stable while the blacksmiths continue forging our future, hammering out the telecom infrastructure that will carry us forward into the 4G world. Anything less is less. Thanks all for your attention.
Snuffy: Yes sireee, brother Brian, you betcha’. And thank you for the good reminders; the reasons for picking ATCA are clear enough. That Blade Stuff crew can stay in their enterprise camp and keep out of our way, if you ask me. Heck, we’ve got real work to do, and ATCA is the brand we’ll continue to stamp on our herd – and don’t any of you go forgetting it!
OK, that’s it! We’ll see ya’ll round the bend at the next CP-TA watering hole. Yee haw!
byBrian WoodContinuous Computing - Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Snuffy: Alright, folks, this here blog is a little ‘ol refresher on ATCA advantages for those of you who might have been asleep during the past year or so – folks who still think getting a subprime mortgage is easy and hog-tying a squealer is hard. Well, shucks, you know as well as I do that “them there” piggies just about jump right into the rope if you know a thing or two about getting ‘em…and the same goes for ATCA, hear you me. Subprime’s another tall tale altogether, so we’ll save that one for the camp fire and just focus today on the critters we’re gonna be wrasslin’ into the central offices.
So take off your hats, kick up your boots, and let’s all re-learn a few things while we’re sitting here resting our dogs, alright? This city-boy, Brian, is going give us a bit of telco schooling like back in the one-room days. Listen up, because I think this ATCA gear is good for all of us.
OK, Brian – let’s get chomping.
Brian: Thank you, Snuffy, and thanks to the rest of you for your attention. I’ll be brief and get you back into the field lickety split; I know that riding herd on telco infrastructure leaves little time for sitting around during the daylight.
OK, you might remember that we’ve got three basic choices when it comes to systems:
- Proprietary design – like a backwoods whiskey still
- Open-standards systems – like ATCA, our hometown favorite
- Closed-standards systems – what I call “Blade Stuff”
So that leaves us with open-standards systems like ATCA, versus what I call “closed-standards systems” – like those from the folks over there in the Blade Stuff camp. Each option has its own positives and negatives depending on the deployment environment, but I think you’ll agree with me that ATCA is the best choice when it comes to our jobs, which of course is carrier-class infrastructure. ATCA was designed for exactly that.
I’ll put it this way: You wouldn’t send a horse doctor to do a blacksmith’s job, now would you? The veterinarian might be able make you something that looks kind of like a horse shoe, but all of us – including the horse – have enough sense know that you need the right tools to do a job right. And ATCA is definitely the right set of tools for telecom.
Snuffy: That’s for sure! If the shoe fits, wear it! Heck, this reminds me of one time when I was fixin’ to wrassle with a really ornery Radio Network Controller and that darned bugger…oh, never mind. I’ll shush up now and let you keep going.
Brian: Thanks, Snuffy – I’ll be fast.
So let’s review the key advantages of ATCA over what you’re likely to face with Blade Stuff.
ATCA: open standards – specified by PICMG based on cross-industry participation from a broad swath of experienced telecom network equipment providers; designed for central office requirements.
Blade Stuff: closed standards – each specified by an individual vendor whose strength is in business networking; originally designed for enterprise data centers but stretched to try to cover telco as well.
Snuffy: Pshaw! That’s like cattle and crows! Those two industries are totally different! Who do those Blade Stuff folks think they’re fooling?!
Brian: Indeed – and you folks in the field should know better than suits in skyscrapers that the central office environment is truly a horse of a different color. Now let’s continue.
ATCA: a healthy ecosystem – dozens of vendors supply interoperable products at all levels of the value chain spanning blades to middleware to software to systems. Choice and competition are the watchwords – just look at CP-TA, PICMG, SAF, SCOPE, etc.
Blade Stuff: an iron-fisted feudal system – subjects pay homage to the king and vow lifelong loyalty in return for protection and small plots of land on which to raise vegetables and livestock. Heaven help anyone who raises their voice in dissent.
Snuffy: Grrrr, that makes me darn tootin’ mad! Those Blade Stuff peasants deserve far better than being kept under somebody’s big thumb, however benevolent he might pretend to be. Harrumph!
Brian: Now, now, Snuffy, some folks like to be limited – we shouldn’t judge them for that. In fact, life is a whole lot simpler when you’ve got only one choice; some people really do like any color as long as it’s black.
But one of the problems with feudalism is that the king can unilaterally decide to raise taxes or change the law of the land regardless of citizens’ protests. That’s one of the many benefits of being king – not to mention the yes-man group-think that occurs when everyone is trying to please the same single boss. Alas, I wish it weren’t so… but let’s go on.
ATCA: The customer is in charge. With so many choices from so many competing suppliers, there’s bound to be a cost-effective solution available for nearly every market niche. Free will and self-guided destiny are hallmarks.
Blade Stuff: The king is in charge. The castle is closed on weekends and the toll bridge over the moat will let you cross only as long as your travel papers bear this year’s official wax seal – available for a fee, of course.
Snuffy: Fees are like fleas – I hate ‘em! We work hard during the day and I for one deserve to get some shut-eye in a bug-free bed! It makes me itchy all over just thinking about it! That Blade Stuff drives me crazy!
Brian: Me too! You folks toil day in and day out to keep telco running, and I for one think you deserve ATCA’s freedom of choice and the refreshing peace of mind that comes with it – not more worries about what the king might do next or whether some data center gear is going to withstand a 20-year flood. ATCA is purpose-built for our telecom world. You know it, I know it, and the people know it.
So those are the highlights. Like Snuffy said, this is just a refresher of some things you already knew. And I’ll make the summary even easier: ATCA was developed for the telco environment and offers a number of telco advantages. Blade Stuff was bred from birds of a different feather and really belongs in the data center.
Snuffy: Ha! That kind of rhymes! Sure makes it easy to remember where Blade Stuff should go – in the chicken coop, as far as I’m concerned! Ha!
Brian: Snuffy, I’ll leave you and the telco crew with this final thought: Data traffic and mobile broadband are growing way too fast and are much too important to have horse doctors doing ironwork. In my opinion the veterinarians ought to stay in the stable while the blacksmiths continue forging our future, hammering out the telecom infrastructure that will carry us forward into the 4G world. Anything less is less. Thanks all for your attention.
Snuffy: Yes sireee, brother Brian, you betcha’. And thank you for the good reminders; the reasons for picking ATCA are clear enough. That Blade Stuff crew can stay in their enterprise camp and keep out of our way, if you ask me. Heck, we’ve got real work to do, and ATCA is the brand we’ll continue to stamp on our herd – and don’t any of you go forgetting it!
OK, that’s it! We’ll see ya’ll round the bend at the next CP-TA watering hole. Yee haw!