According to Raymie Stata, former chief technology officer at Yahoo, deciding to change the way a network operates can lead to cases where you have to physically rearrange hardware. But here’s the problem: networking gear is often old and outdated. While developers are constantly creating and updating software for computers and smartphones, hardware development remains relatively stagnant.

“And that’s no small problem,” writes Wired. “These are the machines that tie everything together inside the mammoth data centers that drive the Internet and the world’s big businesses. Built by tech giants like Cisco and Juniper and HP, this networking hardware is typically operated with archaic software that does only what the Ciscos and the Junipers and the HPs have designed it to do. If you want your Cisco switch to do something new, you may have to wait for Cisco to build a new one.”

There is good news, however, since there is a movement underway to change this. Google, for example, has sought more control by designing its own networking hardware that runs the company’s software.

“And a swashbuckling group of Silicon Valley startups — led by two outfits that sprang from research at Stanford University: Nicira and Big Switch Networks — are now offering tools that let the rest of the world follow in Google footsteps,” explains the article. “The likes of Amazon and Microsoft and Facebook are already moving in this direction.”

Becase of the ongoing, rapid changes, some of the biggest names in technology, from Cisco and Juniper to HP, IBM and Microsoft are launching a joint open source software project called OpenDaylight.

“…the project seeks to create a sweeping collection of software for building networks that are far more nimble than networks of the past, and it will freely share these tools with the world at large,” reports Wired. “According to those involved, the aim is to accelerate the evolution of a networking universe where you can readily mix and match software and hardware from disparate sources.”

“This is something the networking industry desperately needs,” said David Ward, Cisco chief technology of engineering. “It’s critical at this point in the history of the Internet — and open source is the way to do it.”