Ethernet controller and adapter revenue grew 6 percent quarter-over-quarter in 1Q 2021 as inventory correction from the prior quarter eases, according to a new report from Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm projects the server refresh and cloud expansion to drive higher demand later this year.
“In light of the tightening global semiconductor supply chain, we believe server vendors are proactively increasing inventory levels of Ethernet controllers and adapters in anticipation of higher demand later this year,” said Baron Fung, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “As a result, shipments of 10 and 25 Gbps ports grew moderately. Meanwhile, we observed strong momentum for 100 Gbps ports, as the Tier 1 Cloud service providers adopt higher speed ports following data center networking upgrades, and to support the growing demands of accelerated computing and all-flash array storage across the industry,” added Fung.
Additional highlights:
- Total Ethernet controller and adapter revenue forecast to grow 4 percent in 2021.
- Next-generation adapters with 200 Gbps connectivity are starting to ramp.
- Amazon and Microsoft accounted for 90 percent of the Smart NIC port shipments in 1Q 2021.
- Other leading Smart NIC vendors reported include Broadcom, Marvell, Napatech, and Nvidia.
