Infonetics: 16G Fibre Channel Comes Back Strong in Q1

CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its 1^st quarter 2013 (1Q13) SAN and High Performance Interconnect Equipment market size, share and forecasts report, which tracks storage area network (SAN) switches and adapters and high-performance interconnect (HPI) equipment including FCoE/Ethernet switches and converged network adapters.

ANALYST NOTE

“While most SAN equipment languished in the 1^st quarter of 2013, 16G Fibre Channel switches put up a very strong showing,” notes Michael Howard, Infonetics Research’s co-founder and principal analyst for carrier networks. “Sales of chassis 16G Fibre Channel switches grew 45%, and fixed switches more than doubled from the previous quarter.”

Howard adds: “The bulk of 16G Fibre Channel deployments continue to be inter-switch link applications, but with server input/output capabilities rising with the introduction of Intel’s Romley, and with Emulex's and QLogic’s first 16G Fibre Channel adapter shipments, we expect a more meaningful adoption of 16G for server connections to begin in 2013.”

SAN MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Worldwide revenue for SAN equipment, including Fibre Channel switches and iSCSI and Fibre Channel host bus adapters, declined to $604 million in 1Q13, an 8% drop from 4Q12
• The initial pent-up demand that provided a jump start for 16G Fibre Channel switches is still in motion, but Infonetics believes it will soon slow and settle into a growth pattern more in line with the 8G segment
• On the heels of huge growth in 2012, the global high-performance interconnect equipment market, including converged FCoE/Ethernet switches and converged network adapters, slumped 13% sequentially in 1Q13, but is up 45% from the year-ago quarter
• Infonetics forecasts the SAN and high-performance interconnect (HPI) equipment market to top $9 billion by 2017, with the HPI segment gaining as 10GE, 40GE and 100GE transports become the norm for networking within the data center
• The leading manufacturers in the SAN and high-performance interconnect markets all had a down quarter in 1Q13

SAN REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics’ quarterly SAN report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts through 2017, trends and analysis for chassis and fixed Fibre Channel switches; Fibre Channel and iSCSI host bus adapters; chassis and fixed converged FCoE and Ethernet switches; and converged network adapters. Companies tracked: Alcatel-Lucent, Brocade, Chelsio, Cisco, Dell, Emulex, IBM (BNT), Juniper, Mellanox, QLogic and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Infonetics Enterprise Networking / Data Center / Cloud research brief: http://bit.ly/13ayjs8
• Data center equipment takes hit in 1Q13; Citrix gains on F5
• Enterprises’ network demands on a collision course with budget reality
• Operators reveal their data center plans in latest Infonetics study
• High performance interconnect market doubled, SAN held steady in 2012; growth ahead
• SDN, OpenFlow, collaboration, security on the minds of operators planning cloud services

UPCOMING MARKET FORECASTS AND SURVEYS

Download Infonetics’ market research brochure, publication calendar, events brochure, report highlights, tables of contents and more at http://www.infonetics.com/login.

• Enterprise Networking and Communication Vendor Leadership Scorecard
• Data Center Network Equipment - 2Q13 Edition
• Cloud Service Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Cloud Service Strategies: North American Enterprise Survey
• Data Center & SDN Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Data Center & SDN Strategies: North American Enterprise Survey
• SDN Platforms
• Virtualization Platforms

INFONETICS WEBINARS

Visit https://www.infonetics.com/infonetics-events to register for upcoming webinars, view recent webinars on demand or learn about sponsoring a webinar.

• Preparing Enterprise Networks for a Wireless Multi-Device World (View on demand)
• Securing and Managing Mobile Devices in a BYOD World (View on demand)
• SDNs and NFV: Why Operators Are Investing Now (View on demand)
• Architecting Wireless LANs for a BYOD World (Sept. 25: Sponsorships available)

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT:

N. America (West), Asia Pacific: Larry Howard, [e-mail], [phone]

N. America (East), Midwest, L. America: Scott Coyne, [e-mail], [phone]

EMEA, India, Singapore: George Stojsavljevic, [e-mail], [phone]

Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

ABOUT INFONETICS

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize and compete effectively. View Infonetics’ About Us slides at http://bit.ly/QUrbrV.