By Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., senior research director, data center, cloud and SDN, IHS Technology
Analysis
The global data center network equipment market, including data center Ethernet switches, application delivery controllers (ADCs) and WAN optimization appliances (WOAs), grew 6 percent in 2015 from 2014, to $11.8 billion.
White box bare metal switch port shipment growth has stalled for the moment as the large cloud service providers (CSPs) transition to Tomahawk-based units supporting 25GE and 100GE, which just started shipping in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015.
The trend towards purpose-built switches continued in 2015. However, longer term bare metal switching is expected to erode demand for purpose-built switches as the new generation of now-shipping Broadcom switching silicon, which adds 25/50GE to the mix of port speeds in the data center, becomes available from traditional network vendors in the form of branded Ethernet and bare metal switches. This will give data center operators the option to deploy open networks using bare metal switching with comparable risk.
With 100GE now available on bare metal switches, IHS has adjusted its 100GE forecast upwards and now projects 100GE ports to make up over 12 percent of data center Ethernet switch ports shipped by 2020.
More Data Center Network Market Highlights
- Overall data center Ethernet switch revenue was up 7 percent in 2015 from a year ago, and the bare metal switch segment rose 6 percent
- WAN optimization revenue fell 6 percent in 2015 from 2014, while ADC sales were up 4 percent
- Huawei was the top share gainer in 2015 and is now battling Juniper for the number‑4 spot for data center switch revenue
- Riverbed has acquired Ocedo, with new software-defined wide area network (SD‑WAN) products expected in Q1 2016
- IHS anticipates strong double-digit growth for 40GE ports in 2016, after which 100GE (with 25GE server connectivity) will push 40GE into decline
The quarterly IHS data center network report provides market size, vendor market share, forecasts through 2020, analysis and trends for data center Ethernet switches, bare metal Ethernet switches, Ethernet switches sold in bundles, application delivery controllers (ADCs) and WAN optimization appliances (WOAs). Vendors tracked include A10, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, Arista, Array Networks, Aryaka, Barracuda, Blue Coat, Brocade, CloudGenix, Cisco, Citrix, Dell, Exinda, F5, HPE, Huawei, IBM, Ipanema, Juniper, KEMP Technologies, Lenovo, NEC, Radware, Riverbed, Siaras, Silver Peak, Talari, VeloCloud, Viptela, others.
