16 Gbps Fibre Channel Market Heats Up While SAN Revenue Cools Down, According to Dell'Oro Group

Cisco Announces New MDS 9710 Chassis, After a Seasonally Week First Quarter

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Jun 10, 2013, 12:00 ET

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recently published SAN quarterly report by Dell'Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the networking and telecommunications industries, Fibre Channel switch and adapter revenues declined 10 percent to $594M in the first quarter 2013.

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Cisco announced their new 16 Gbps Fibre Channel (FC) director class switches, during a quarter that saw their lowest FC switch revenue since the second quarter of 2009. Sequential weakness was attributed to stalled sales as customers anticipated the release of the MDS switch platform. This product marked Cisco's first new FC chassis since the MDS 9500 began shipping more than a decade ago.

With the release of the MDS 9710, Cisco will enter the 16 Gbps Fibre Channel switch market a full seven quarters after Brocade. "Brocade has been the only vendor shipping 16 Gbps, or 'Gen 5 Fibre Channel', switches. The lack of new products in the ecosystem has resulted in a slower than expected migration, and I think we saw the impact of that this quarter," said Casey Quillin, Senior Analyst at Dell'Oro Group. "This announcement is very positive news for the market; competition is always good, and it sends the message that Fibre Channel will not be going away anytime soon," added Quillin.

The report discusses the outlook for market migration to 16 Gbps Fibre Channel, new product offerings, and analyzes how Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is affecting FC adapter revenues. Vendors currently offering Fibre Channel switch and adapter offerings include: Brocade, Cisco, Emulex and QLogic.

About the Report
The Dell'Oro Group SAN Quarterly Report provides complete, in-depth coverage of the market with tables covering manufacturers' revenue, average selling prices, and port shipments by speed 1 Gbps (historical data), 2 Gbps (historical data), 4 Gbps, 8 Gbps and greater than or equal to 16 Gbps for Fibre Channel switches and adapters, and 10 Gbps FCoE switches, controllers, and adapters. To purchase this report, contact Julie Learmond-Criqui at +1.650.622.9400 x244 or email [email protected].

About Dell'Oro Group
As the trusted source for market information about the networking and telecommunications industries, Dell'Oro Group provides in-depth, objective research and analysis that enable component manufacturers, equipment vendors, and investment firms to make fact-based, strategic decisions. For more information, contact Dell'Oro Group at +1.650.622.9400 or visit www.DellOro.com.

SOURCE Dell'Oro Group