Rumor: Amazon is considering selling its own network switches

Amazon is considering selling network switches and is currently piloting a small number of customers. The Information claims that on the basis of its own sources. The first products should appear within a year and a half.

According to The Information, these are so-called white-box switches, which means that Amazon uses unbranded hardware that runs open source software. These devices come with “built-in connections to Amazon Web Services services,” claims one of the site’s sources. They need to make it easier for customers to switch workloads between their own data centers and AWS. The company is said to have started the project at the beginning of last year and expects to come up with a product in the next year and a half.

In addition, it wants to offer lower prices than network equipment manufacturer Cisco. According to The Information, the plans would change course for Amazon, which has always maintained a full transition to cloud services. While several major tech companies are using such white-box switches for their own services, Amazon is said to be one of the first companies to offer them to business customers as well. Amazon has not responded to the rumor.