* Intel gets NetEffect's 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters
Intel this week bought the assets of NetEffect, a company that specializes in Ethernet technology for server clusters.
NetEffect is a 10-year-old company that started out as Banderacom and had focused on InfiniBand switches and adapters.
Today, the company offers server adapters based on Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Copper versions at both speeds are available, as well as an optical 10 Gigabit adapter and a 10 Gigabit ASIC.
Earlier this year, NetEffect announced a 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter for HP’s BladeSystem c-Class server blades. At the time, NetEffect touted the adapter for its low power consumption and small size. The blades use the adapters to interact with HP’s 10 Gigabit switch for the blade server, which is actually made by Blade Network Technologies.
Intel bought NetEffect’s assets – including its Ethernet product portfolio and intellectual property – for $8 million. NetEffect says that 30 employees, mainly engineers, have moved to Intel and continue to be based in Austin, Texas.
Intel must have been feeling rich after reporting record revenue for the third quarter of this year. A mere $8 million is a drop in the bucket when you’re clearing $2 billion in profit in your most recent quarter. The news was remarkable given the turmoil in the economy of which we are all aware.
In announcing the acquisition, Intel points out that it already has a portfolio of 10 Gigabit Ethernet server adapters, but said that the net effect of the NetEffect acquisition (see how I did that?) was the addition of “complementary High Performance Network Interface Card (NIC) products to Intel’s Ethernet portfolio.”
