Is Google building its own router?

This may be nothing but blogosphere blah-blah-blah, but a colleague sent me a note Thursday stating that Juniper Networks' share price fell earlier this week because of a rumor that its customer Google is actually building its own router.

This Google news was attributed to multiple sources including at least one within Cisco Systems, according to a story Monday on SDTimes. CNET News sister site BNET contacted Google about the rumor: "The answer was the now-standard 'It's our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation.'"

OK, so my guess is that this rumor is probably true--with a caveat. Remember that routers are simply purpose-built computers for routing packets. Microsoft had a similar project in the 1990s called Steelhead that used Windows as the routing operating system. My old friend Roy Chua is working with a Silicon Valley company named XORP, which stands for "extensible open source routing platform." Nothing new here.

My guess is that some of the smart guys over at Google are tinkering around with XORP or something similar just as they have for back-end storage. On the other hand, I can't imagine that Google is trying to build a router comparable to the Juniper J or M series systems as these are the latest generation of Juniper routing platforms with thousands of development hours behind them. Juniper isn't a leading provider in this market for nothing.

On the off chance that Google is actually undertaking a project like this, I have a bit of advice to Google shareholders: sell your stock. Google employs some of the smartest computer scientists around, but if this is true, you have to question the company's business focus. What's next? Google building its own powerplants? A Google department of defense? A Google space shuttle?

[Michichael]

Sounds like generic blogosphere idiocy to me.

[this1!]

jeez skilling, settle it down, what the chafing keeping you from pleasuring yourself today?

see what i did there? a masturbation joke, clever, i know...

[lmasanti]

quote:
"What's next? Google building its own powerplants?"

They are covering the park lots with solar cells, so... they "already" builts its own powerplant!

[lmasanti]

quote:
"...but if this is true, you have to question the company's business focus. "

Why? It could be done in some employees' "20% own projects" time.
The company would still be just in its [previous] focus.

All due respect: who wouldn't want a Google space shuttle?

[websterphreaky]

Two (2) Words: WHO CARES???

F Google, we ALL have had ENOUGH of all this bull-**** Google Hyping by you A-Holes in the media. Quit kissing the ***** of the rich brats who run Google!

[this1!]

what he said ^^

[jackdaniels08]

websterphreaky has Google envy! And so hostile! websterphreaky, why so serious? Come now, think rainbows, happy clown face, colorful flowers, cute kittens, laughing babies, think love. You just need some googley googley tickling. Two words: Google Android

[celticbrewer]

Webster, I don't totally agree with your attitude; BUT while google puts out some great software that I use consistently, I hardly think they're such an innocent company.

"Do no evil"? Ya right! They're just as money grubbing as the next company. Yeah, they do a lot of good, but so does microsoft. Google is great, but I'm not going to bow down to them- they're just another software company concerned with their bottom line.

[Dalkorian]

by skillingssucks January 8, 2009 6:03 PM PST
...said the 13 year old kid on his mommy's computer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that was just uncalled for Skillingssucks. Flat out uncalled for. I think you owe someone an apology. Tell me, what have 13 year olds done to you to cause you to insult them so?

[sundance808]

HAHAHA

[JCPayne]

Iewww why? Google would bogg itself down by trying to being an absolutely everything company. I can't see how adding a hole line of peripherals would make google much better off. If anything Google might be THE company that can pull off a far greater convergence of TV and PCs.

[skillingssucks]

They're building it for their own use and not as an item they're going to sell to the public.

[SVContrarian]

Google already builds their own servers... http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/062906-google-builds-own-servers-for.html?page=1

Google already builds their own 10GB switches http://gigaom.com/2007/11/18/google-making-its-own-10gig-switches/

Google already has a Space Shuttle (well, actually just a really cool plane that lands at NASA/Moffett Field) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/08/BUSNS0G94.DTL

Google makes it's own Chicken Mole too... (even though Apple stole their chef) http://www.foodgal.com/2008/08/another-former-google-chef-defecting-to-apple/

Why should a router surprise anyone? With the downturn in advertising, maybe cement will be next.

To your conclusion, though, I'd argue shareholders started jumping ship October '07.

[jameshaven]

Sell my stock, this is just the reason people like to invest in google. They do things for no other reason than to make the world a better place. ie net neutrality... I bet they come out with a router that allows people to share some percentage of their wireless connection when it's not in use with other people, but when you want to use it yourself then the shared portion gets throttled back.

This is the reason ms will never beat them. Everyone knows that if MS ever controls search we won't be able to see the results for the ads...they have cleaned their search engine for now, but if they were to ever knock google out, you can be sure they will be putting the screws to everyone the very next day.

[superman227]

Google is a great company, but they need to slow down - case in point Chrome. I was disappointed with Chrome, based on the fact it comes from the almighty Google. I had high expectations. Unfortunately, it has similar issues to Firefox with incompatibility with some sites. It's even incompatible with its own Google Desktop. I love Google Chrome's startup w/ the top used pages already there, but the browser needs fine tuning.
A router - I'm happy with my Belkin Wireless G $40 router.

[this1!]

dont blame site compatibility issues on firefox/chrome, its M$ fault for creating their own silly standards to work with IE instead of complying to the traditionally set and accepted language standards, or better yet, blame the site for giving into said noncompliant standards in the first place.

[jackdaniels08]

I've been using Chrome since it debut and have updated along with all the new iterations. I love Google Chrome and it's the only one I use now.

[superman227]

OK. Site compatibility is a minor thing, but the fact its own Google toolbar and desktop are not compatible with Chrome doesn't impress me.

[JackBrowne]

Gotta stick with the Cisco routers...check out this link of one in use: thanks--

http://www.digitalcribs.net/DisplayVideo.aspx?id=971429333