Who Will Reap the Rewards of the Internet's Hardware Upgrade?

Although software is the most important ingredient of the next-generation Internet -- from web applications to cloud-computing platforms -- hardware vendors are not shy about marketing their wares as integral parts of the equation.

This week, Cisco claimed it will revolutionize the Internet -- the cloud included -- with its forthcoming CRS-3 router, and startups like Tilera are shilling new chips designed with large-scale web applications in mind. If we accept the premise that hardware upgrades are necessary (they certainly can't hurt), the question remains as to who will sell us this new gear. The numbers suggest we'll see hardware evolutions to match the software advances that are driving Internet traffic, and service providers and web companies could be lining up to buy these new products. Whether they'll be buying from their current vendors might depend on what they need.