PRESS RELEASE 01/22/04

Switch Fabric Vendors Gear Up for Upcoming OEM Replacement Cycle

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—January 22, 2004—From 2001 through 2003, the merchant switch fabric market has taken quite a beating, resulting in vendors closing operations, diminishing funding, and cancellation of programs. With few vendors and a potential for significant growth, the fabric market represents an attractive opportunity for new entrants as well as the remaining vendors according to  “A Guide to Switch Fabrics,” a new report released by The Linley Group. Proprietary protocols and competing standards, however, increase the complexity for OEMs to select the right switch fabric.

"Because of increasing Internet traffic, we expect service providers to initiate a major platform upgrade cycle in 2006 and 2007," says coauthor and senior analyst, Jag Bolaria. "To meet that demand, successful OEMs will have to start new designs by the end of 2004. The good news for fabric vendors is that the market is wide open for both new and existing vendors."

“A Guide to Switch Fabrics” provides extensive coverage of devices from Agere, AMCC, Dune, Sandburst, TeraChip, Erlang, Vitesse, ZettaCom, and many others. The report explores product strengths and weaknesses and presents key details in a consistent, easy-to-compare fashion. The authors pay particular attention to product features, performance, architecture, system design, and vendor roadmaps. The Linley Group’s expert analysis and conclusions help you identify critical differences in these products.

"To make a difficult market even more challenging, OEMs and fabric vendors are facing the transition from proprietary to standard backplanes." says Bob Wheeler, coauthor and senior analyst at The Linley Group. "While ultimately this will benefit the OEMs, their adoption of merchant fabrics is slowed by the uncertainty over which protocol will win out. Fabric vendors are being forced to invest in new silicon during a time when very few have the resources to do so."

This newly-revised report, now in its third edition, covers the dynamic market of commercial switch fabrics. It analyzes proprietary and standard fabric protocols as well as highlighting the eventual winners. Learn how these vendors stack up against the competition. Which startups are poised for success and which will fail? Which fabric standard is likely to succeed, in which applications and when? Only The Linley Group provides the deep technology analysis you need to understand this market. If you want to make informed business decisions in this market, "A Guide to Switch Fabrics" provides the critical information you need.

About The Linley Group

The Linley Group is the leading provider of independent technology analysis for the networking-silicon industry, covering emerging areas such as network processors, switch fabrics, search engines, 802.11 chip sets, security processors, control-plane processors, communications processors, high-speed interconnects, and storage networking processors. The company provides in-depth technology reports and interactive seminars as well as strategic consulting services tailored to the individual client. To get free access to The Linley Group's analysis of recent news and events in this market segment, subscribe to our e-mail newsletter.

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