The risk is that compute-intensive XML parsing and transformations will adversely affect performance of core routing functions. There are fears regarding whether a hung process on an AON blade might force the router to need a reboot, something that is rarely done except on a carefully scheduled basis since it disrupts services across the enterprise. Looming even larger than these operational questions is whether application developers can appreciate the nuances of traffic routing.
These risks are real, not imagined, and Cisco's reluctance to release AON into general availability reinforces the seriousness of the risks inherent in a partnership between the network and the application. Making it even more difficult is that the union relies on the cooperation of disparate, and sometimes rival, enterprise groups. Politics, not technology, is the roadblock here, something everyone in the industry understands and points to as the primary hurdle that Cisco must overcome before AON and products like it can explode onto the scene. Bringing together network and application architects is no easy task, but it isn't impossible, as F5 Networks proved when it launched its DevCentral site many years ago in a similar attempt to join these groups. F5 has had a great deal of success in this regard, and Cisco may need to acknowledge that one of its biggest competitors has cracked this nut and take a page from F5's playbook to achieve its goals.
Additionally, Cisco has put itself into a position that requires it to support application developers. Although it has worked with OEM partners to deliver integrated third-party products through exposed interfaces, it has never before dealt with enterprise application developers, and supporting those programmers without direct access to Cisco support personnel will require more resources and a different strategy than it is likely used to presenting.
If it can do so, the payback for Cisco and its customers could be dramatic. The benefits of perimeter SOA (service-oriented architecture) security, including encryption, data scrubbing and SSL termination, are well-understood. Better to stop that credit-card or Social Security number from leaving the network than face the consequences from regulations such as HIPAA and California's SB 1386. Traffic can't be routed based on payload if it's encrypted, so SSL traffic must be terminated at the routing device anyway.
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