Shipments of 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) data center switch ports are on track to exceed 10 million this year -- more than triple the prior year's shipments -- according to an upcoming report from Crehan Research Inc.

The analyst also notes that, in correlation with this strong 400 GbE data center switch ramp, 50 Gbps SerDes shipments are now surpassing 25 Gbps SerDes shipments, to become the mostly widely deployed data center switch SerDes lane speed (see chart above).

"The 400 GbE data center switch transition is well under way, with volumes now starting to move toward the tens of millions in conjunction with broader customer adoption," explained Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research.

He continued, "Newer applications and architectures such as machine learning and disaggregated computing, on top of existing high-bandwidth drivers including video, machine-to-machine traffic and data analytics, are driving the need for faster switch speeds with better bandwidth economics."

Crehan says its research results reflect the data center switch silicon transition from 3.2 Tbps to 12.8 Tbps, and the respective underlying technologies of 25 Gbps and 50 Gbps SerDes.

The new report further points out that the 50 Gbps SerDes transition time of approximately three years is faster than the time for the 25 Gbps SerDes transition, according to the analyst.

"These large deployments of 12.8 Tbps data center switches, with underlying 50 Gbps SerDes technology, are laying the groundwork for the deployments of next-generation 25.6 Tbps data center switches with 100 Gbps SerDes technology, which we expect to start ramping next year," Crehan concluded.

For more information email [email protected], call 650-273-8400, or visit www.CrehanResearch.com.