The 25G Ethernet Ramp Starts On The Server

By Timothy Prickett Morgan, The Next Platform

Now, QLogic is aiming at the hyperscalers and those who want to emulate them with a new line of server adapters, code-named “Big Bear” and sold under the QL4500 brand, that support the 25G Ethernet protocol that hyperscalers Google and Microsoft initiated back in the summer of 2014 because they were unhappy with the way the industry was planning to string out 40 Gb/sec fabrics and build 100 Gb/sec products. The 25G ramp will start in earnest this year, and as we have said from the beginning, the compelling mix of high bandwidth, low power, and what we presume will be low cost will make 25G products that support 25 Gb/sec, 50 Gb/sec, and 100 Gb/sec bandwidths will make them appealing to more than the hyperscalers.

This is particularly true when it comes to storage, a business that QLogic knows plenty about because it is the dominant supplier of Fibre Channel adapters, with over 17 million ports shipped and making it the market leader. QLogic has a growing converged Ethernet business, too, with over 5 million ports in the field and second only to Mellanox Technologies in this space.

The new QL4500 adapters are part of that plan, and as you might expect, there is a strong storage angle to its strategy as well as a desire to feed the adapter needs of hyperscalers that are doing their 25G ramps.

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Tags: 25G Ethernet, 45000 Series, QLogic

Category: News