Oct. 13: Data-networking company Cisco Systems agrees to pay $2.9 billion for Starent Networks of Tewksbury, which makes networking equipment for cellphone systems.
Nov. 3: Data storage company EMC of Hopkinton and its subsidiary VMware form an alliance with Cisco to offer integrated server, storage, networking, and virtualization products. The alliance creates a potent rival to Hewlett-Packard and other large computer vendors.
Wednesday: Hewlett-Packard buys Marlborough networking company 3Com for $2.7 billion. The purchase puts HP in direct competition against Google in the market for high-end networking gear and helps HP match the offerings of the Cisco-EMC alliance.
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