This article at Slashdot is something the Linux community (and I) have asked for for ages. An embedded version of linux capable of running on the network switch itself, delivering content to users directly at the network layer.

I’d always wondered why Cisco hadn’t teamed with Sun during Web 1.0 to put versions of the Netra T1 into the switch hardware. So many sites were deploying T1’s with Cisco Catalyst 65xx series switches, but neither company raised the flag and tried to merge the two devices.

We have a fair amount of machine merging with network hardware if you’re using virtualized machines but nothing like what this article provides. Check it out, it’s a good read.