Layer-3 Switch Market Hits $10.2 Billion in 2004; Gigabit Ethernet, Layer-7 Switches, Server Load Balancing, VoLAN, Policy-Based Management Also in End-User Plans

Business Wire, April 10, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2000

Small, medium, and large organizations in the U.S. will spend more than $19 billion on 100M and 1G Ethernet in 2004, according to a market research study released today by Infonetics Research, Inc.

Of that forecast, $10.2 billion will be spent on layer-3 switches alone. The study, "User Plans for High Performance LANs 2000," is part of a longitudinal research series Infonetics Research is conducting to track critical segments of the high performance LAN market.

Some provocative facts and data points from the report:

--  Security is the number one feature end-users look for in both
    workgroup and backbone switches
--  70% plan to adopt layer-3 switches by 2002, confirming that
    layer-3 has proven to be a viable alternative to traditional
    multi-protocol routers
--  14% plan to adopt layer-7 switches by 2002 -- a sizeable figure
    for a product just out of the box
--  25% of respondents already use server load balancing, and
    significantly more will by 2002
--  Ubiquitous Gigabit Ethernet is used down to the desktop

"Layer-3 switching is now widely accepted by organizations of all sizes," said Michael Howard, principal analyst and founder of Infonetics Research. "In the LAN, users need only a handful of the capabilities of a full-featured, multi-protocol router. Layer-3 switching is a hot alternative because it provides the capabilities these users need at a fraction of the price."

"User Plans for High Performance LANs 2000" is a 286-page, 113-exhibit study that addresses emerging market and buying trends, including:

--  Gigabit Ethernet deployment plans
--  Layer-3 and layer-7 switch adoption rates
--  QoS/CoS and overprovisioning deployment plans
--  Policy-based management implementation plans
--  Voice on the LAN deployment plans
--  Switch manufacturers that customers plan to buy from
--  Network factors and applications driving high performance LAN
    purchases

In 6 months, Infonetics Research will release "High Performance LANs Snapshots 2000," a follow-up study to look at the bigger and more controversial trends in the high performance LAN market.

To review PDF versions of the table of contents/list of exhibits and study excerpts from "User Plans for High Performance LANs 2000," please contact kim@infonetics.com.

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is a market research and consulting firm for the networking and telecommunications industries. Focusing on emerging technologies, Infonetics Research provides worldwide market share services and US and European demand-side research to network equipment and software manufacturers, service providers, chip and component manufacturers, and the investment community worldwide.