Cloud-based services and the data centers required to deliver those services are driving strong demand for high-performance switch chips that can handle up to 12.8 Tbit/s in a single device. Following significant investment over the past five years, there are now more companies than ever before with competitive Ethernet switch chips. The market is rapidly moving to 100 Gbit/s connections within large data centers, but there is still a strong market for Ethernet switch chips with large numbers of 10 Gbit/s and 25 Gbit/s ports. The industry is now preparing for the move to 200 Gbit/s and 400 Gbit/s with the first switch devices in production and the first systems introduced.
This report details and analyzes more than 40 high-performance Ethernet switch devices, embedded SDN, operating system software and IP solutions, identifying the key requirements and highlighting the advantages they hold for equipment manufacturers and service providers. It also reviews vendor strategies and surveys component features, performance and flexibility in this important market. Further, this report profiles 15 vendors in the market.