Gary, thank you for your thoughtful and detailed responses to my questions. Your explanation of "a much more business-relevant approach" created an Aha! moment for me.

I can now appreciate the advantages of viewing the market transition from this point of view (outcome oriented, and more meaningful than the typical technology-centric debate).

I now understand the significance of "a purpose-built hardware solution" -- and that it's really only an option for those companies that have this inherent ability to create and apply unique physical attributes in their product portfolio.

I'll go back and re-read the editorial where you further explain the "ACI fabric orchestration model" -- this part will require me to do more research (not because of your explanation, but frankly my lack of technical knowledge).

Ditto, regarding the "OpenDayLight open source" -- that's another research and analysis assignment for me :)

Again, thank you for this insightful background information.

Full Disclosure: I currently hold Cisco stock and provide guidance to investors via several financial service advisory networks -- more details here http://bit.ly/HXn0LM