Analyst: 25G, 50G Ethernet will transform data center switching market

Infonetics Research, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), has released excerpts from its 3rd quarter 2014 (3Q14) Data Center Network Equipment report, which tracks data center Ethernet switches, Ethernet switches sold in bundles, application delivery controllers (ADCs) and WAN optimization products.

The analyst reports that the global data center Ethernet switch market put in a good showing in 3Q14, up 5 percent sequentially to $2.2 billion. Positive forces include the U.S. public sector and cloud service providers.

“The data center switching market is poised for another transformation, with 25GE and 50GE enabling new data center network architectures, targeting large cloud service providers looking to migrate from 10GE switching and server connectivity to 100GE switching and 25GE server connectivity,” predicts Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., directing analyst for data center, cloud, and SDN at Infonetics Research.

The new report also finds that, though worldwide application delivery controller revenue is down 2 percent in 3Q14 from 2Q14, the ADC market has grown consistently on a year-over-year basis for the last 6 quarters. Virtual ADC appliances are up 20 percent from the previous quarter, notes the data.

Grossner adds, “A new generation of Broadcom switching silicon will add 25GE and 50GE to the mix of port speeds in the data center for 2015.”

Globally, Infonetics has also determined that WAN optimization revenue was up 9 percent sequentially in 3Q14, but down 1 percent from the year-ago 3rd quarter. There are more new entrants in the WAN optimization space with Siaras and Viptela jumping in, but the market has yet to return to long-term growth, adds the firm.

Learn more about the report.