A recent report from market research firm Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) says the 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) market is big and growing fast, with the number of ports shipping on enterprise and service provider equipment expected to jump from more than 300,000 in 2006 to more than 3 million in 2010.
According to the report, �10-Gigabit Ethernet Market Outlook,� 10GbE ports are most commonly deployed on Ethernet switches today. This trend will change over the coming years, say analysts, because 10GbE technology will be increasingly used in other platforms, including IP edge routers and optical equipment.
�Bandwidth-hungry applications, backup, and archiving are the chief drivers behind enterprise traffic growth, and our conversations with buyers show they will continue building out their networks via 10G Ethernet to accommodate these new traffic patterns,� notes Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research. �This means the enterprise 10GbE market will experience sustained and steady growth over the coming years, especially once low-priced copper alternatives hit the market, for which some buyers have been holding out,� he says.
Infonetics� 10GbE report provides worldwide and regional market size and forecasts from 2006 to 2010 for 10GbE ports and revenue for enterprise Ethernet switches, routers, and application switches, as well as service provider routers, Carrier Ethernet switches (CES), optical gear (WDM and SONET/SDH), PON OLTs, and CMTSs. The report does not track non-network equipment that use 10GbE interfaces, such as servers, blade servers, and NICs.