Major Transition for Data Center Switching in 2014 – Crehan Research

2014 should be a year of major transition for three key data-center switch technologies, according to Crehan Research Inc.‘s recently published Data Center Switch Long-Range Forecast Report.

  Data Center Switch Adoption Trends

  (Source: Crehan Research)

The firm forecasts that each technology will surpass the incumbent, becoming the majority of its respective segment (see accompanying figure).

More specifically, Crehan projects that on an annual basis:

• In IB, 56Gb FDR will overtake 40Gb QDR to comprise more than 50% of shipments.
• In FC, 16Gb will exceed 8Gb to comprise more than 50% of shipments.
• In Ethernet, 10bE will outstrip 1GbE to comprise more than 50% of shipments.

“10GbE is finally on the verge of becoming the most popular data center switch port connection, after a long and sometimes rocky adoption curve,” said Seamus Crehan, president, Crehan Research. “And as 40GbE starts to ramp, we are still forecasting its adoption curve to look much better than that of 10GbE. This is already evidenced by the fact that recent data center switch introductions are really pushing the envelope on 40GbE port densities and economics.“

In its year-ago Data Center Switch Long-Range Forecast Report (January 2013), Crehan illustrated that 40GbE would comprise close to one-third of all data center switch shipments by 2017, and this latest forecast maintains the same outlook.

In FC, the report further shows that despite a more gradual ramp than that seen for 8Gb, 16Gb FC adoption is picking up steam. Crehan predicts that it will become the majority FC switch technology by 2014.

“In the IB switch market, 56Gbps FDR is well on its way to becoming the next de facto high-speed interconnect, setting the foundation for upgrades to the forthcoming 100Gbps EDR products,” Crehan said.