100 Gigabit Ethernet switch sales pace growth of market in '15, Comcast Business partners with AWS, and Nomadix deploys Deep Packet Inspection platform.
Worldwide Ethernet switch sales topped a record $6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a report by analytics firm IHS Inc.
For the full year, Ethernet switch sales reached $22.6 billion, driven by strong demand in North America and China for 40 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 100 Gigabit switch connectivity, said Matthias Machowinski, senior research director of enterprise networks and video at IHS, based in Englewood, Colo.
IHS' quarterly Ethernet Switch Report said that the shipment of 100 Gbps ports quadrupled in the fourth quarter of 2015, driven in part by QSFP28-based 100 Gigabit switch products. Shipments of 40 GbE ports doubled in 2015, to 4 million, IHS said. Fully managed fixed switches and Web-managed switches sparked the most demand among buyers, with Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ranked as the top Ethernet switch suppliers. Huawei came in at No. 3 while Juniper Networks and Arista Networks wrestled for No. 4.
IHS' Ethernet switch sales report tracks Web-managed, unmanaged, and fully-managed fixed and chassis switches in different port speed categories, spanning from 100 Mbps to 100 Gigabit switch products.
Comcast Business teams with AWS
Comcast Business said it will begin offering enterprises direct links to Amazon Web Services (AWS), via AWS Direct Connect. The new offering allows customers to achieve private network connectivity to the cloud services maintained by AWS.
Fully managed fixed switches and Web-managed switches sparked the most demand among buyers, with Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ranked as the top carrier Ethernet switch and Ethernet switch suppliers.
Comcast said the offering is now available to the more than 1 million buildings passed by Comcast. Services available include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud and Amazon Simple Storage Solution.
"As businesses expand their strategic use of cloud services for IT, the essential connectivity requirements they look for are high performance, reliability, security and access flexibility," Erin Dunne, director of research services at Vertical Systems Group in Norwood, Mass., said in a statement. "The addition of Comcast Business to the AWS Partner Network provides business-class connectivity for cloud access throughout Comcast's extensive Ethernet network footprint."
Comcast first began building its data center and cloud offerings in 2014, and the ongoing integration with AWS Direct Connect is an important step in expanding the company's already substantial network that spans 400 data center and cloud exchanges.
Nomadix launches DPI appliance
Nomadix, an Agoura Hills, Calif.-based network equipment provider, has released a new network monitoring appliance that blends analytics, real-time reporting and deep packet inspection (DPI).
The Alloc8-X series comes in four models -- supporting wire speeds from 200 Mbps to 10 Gbps. All support policy-based traffic-shaping tools to enable IT administrators to diagnose and resolve problems quickly, according to Fred Reeder, chief commercial and operating officer at Nomadix.
"The ability to control the applications that use your network is vital to the guest experience," Reeder said in a statement. "[The] Alloc8 - X Series enables IT personnel to identify problem users and apply granular policies to control who, and what, can use valuable bandwidth on your network. This not only improves the guest experience but also saves operators money in the long run."
