Ethernet: The Need For Speed

When it comes to Ethernet networks, there's only one speed worth talking about--fast. And these days, the fastest realistic speed is 10 gigabits.

At one time, 10-gigabit speed may have seemed beyond the reach of most Ethernet networks, but today it's increasingly common. In fact, says a report by the Virginia-based market-research firm CIR, 10-gigabit Ethernet solutions are becoming dominant. The firm said that 10-Gigabit Ethernet devices will account for two-thirds of deliveries next year and almost 80 percent in 2009.

What does that mean in terms of dollars? A cool $570 million next year and $3.3 billion by 2009.

There are plenty of reasons why 10-gigabit Ethernet is taking off. As IP-based applications, such as VoIP, IP Telephony, and media streaming, become mainstream, enterprises, and even small and medium-sized businesses, have a growing need for speed and bandwidth.

And 10-gigabit Ethernet is much cheaper than are previous high-speed networking technologies. The CIR study noted that OC-192 router ports are 50 times more expensive than the average 10-Gigabit Ethernet port, so there's understandably a drop of interest in SONET/SDH transmission technology."No one is going to choose SONET/SDH over 10-Gigabit Ethernet," CIR observed.

Also keying the move to 10-gigabit Ethernet is the increasing need for high speed and intelligence at the network edge, not only at its core. As IP telephones, WLAN access points, and similar bandwidth-hungry devices proliferate at the network edge, the edge now needs high speeds. Companies are, therefore, releasing 10-gigabit devices designed for the network edge.

Hewlett-Packard, for example, recently announced a new architecture, the ProCurve Adaptive EDGE Architecture, designed to bring high speed and intelligence to the network edge. Key to the architecture is the ProCurve Switch 6400cl series, a family of high-performance 10 Gigabit wire-speed aggregators.

And Alcatel, recently announced a family of 1U-high, layer-three gigabit switches with 10-gigabit Ethernet uplinks, designed to help networks make the transition to gigabit Ethernet at the desktop.

Cisco, not to be outdone, recently released 20 new switches that bring 10-gigabit speeds to the network edge. Cisco's John Yen, senior manager for LAN switching, explained: "With them, you can deploy 10 gigabits all the way down to the wiring closet."Soon enough, 10-gigabit will become the standard. Expect that it's what you'll be buying for your next network hardware.

Cisco Retools Catalyst Switch Line
Twenty new switches bring 10-gigabit speeds, greater security, and PoE to the network edge.

Alcatel Releases Switch Family For Gigabit/10 Gigabit Converged Networks
New Gigabit switches with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks are designed help networks make the transition to Gigabit Ethernet at the desktop.

Report: 10-Gigabit Ethernet Is Breaking Out
Deliveries are expected to reach 570 million next year.

Hewlett-Packard Announces New Architecture For Edge Networks
Architecture is designed to deliver aggregation and core networking functionality for Edge-enabled networks. Study: Foundry Networks Leads 10-Gigabit Ethernet Market
The company has grabbed a 45% share of port shipments and a 43% share of market revenue in the third quarter of 2004.

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