Vyatta challenges Cisco's ISR with open source model

Network company Vyatta has launched a router using open source to undercut Cisco's branch office flagship, the ISR 2800 and 3800 family. A Vyatta executive has also criticised Cisco's attitude to open source, according to a report in Techworld.

The report says that Vyatta's 2502 has eight times more memory than the Cisco ISR, and costs US$2,747 (around €2,056), for functions Vyatta claims are equivalent to those on the higher end Cisco 3800. Its retail price is over US$6000.

The ISR is one of Cisco's flagship products, with more than 5 million units shipped since its launch in 2004. The company recently refreshed the product line to make it more appealing to service providers.

Cisco uses open source software to build its products, but does not pass the cost savings on to customers, or deliver an open source product, alleges Dave Roberts, marketing vice president of Vyatta, on his blog.

He was quoted saying, 'Cisco is going about its business making closed, proprietary systems but doing so using open source raw materials. Cisco has a gross margin of 64%, one of the highest in the tech industry.'