Gigabit, 10 Gig boost Ethernet switch sales

Sales of 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches rose sharply in the first quarter of this year, against a backdrop of more modest growth in sales of Ethernet switches in general.

According to Synergy Research Group, the market for 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches grew a whopping 250% over the same quarter last year. More striking is the jump in port shipments, at 1,928% – which is a good illustration of how far port prices have fallen in the past year.

Compared to the previous quarter, revenue from 10 Gigabit Ethernet was up 27%, the firm says.

Meanwhile, Dell’Oro Group has released a report saying that sales of Ethernet switches are up 16% from the previous quarter, to $3.2 billion. Revenue had been flat in the previous quarter.

Dell’Oro attributes the rise to Gigabit Ethernet; the firm says that for the first time, revenue from Gigabit exceeded revenue from Fast Ethernet. These sales came from switches with a high density of Gigabit over copper, intended for server and desktop connections.

Dell’Oro noted that the first quarter of the year is typically the slowest for Ethernet switches, but this time shipments and purchases delayed from late last year helped boost the numbers.

In terms of ranking, Cisco leads the pack and in fact saw a rise in sales of 25% quarter to quarter. Next was Nortel, though its Ethernet switch sales dropped 9%. HP followed, with a 7% rise; 3Com stayed steady; and Foundry rounded out the top five, though its sales dropped 9%.