IDC: Modest growth for Ethernet switch and router market

The worldwide Ethernet switch market (Layer 2/3) recorded $6.9 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), an increase of 3.2% year over year, according to IDC’s newly updated Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and Worldwide Quarterly Router Tracker, and reached more than $25.7 billion in revenue for the full year 2017, an increase of 5.4% over 2016.

IDC calculates that the worldwide total enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded just under $4.0 billion in revenue in 4Q17, increasing 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. For the full year 2017, the router market finished at $15.2 billion, an increase of 4.0% over 2016.

“The Ethernet switch market continues to exhibit healthy growth, driven by network refreshes and investments in the fast-growing campus and datacenter segments. In the combined service provider and enterprise router market, vendor dynamics are beginning to shift as end users look to capitalize on higher-speed cloud connectivity,” said Petr Jirovsky, research manager, Worldwide Networking Trackers.

IDC notes that 100Gb Ethernet switch revenue continues to grow rapidly as adoption by hyperscale cloud providers and large enterprises accelerates.

Some highlights:

• 100Gb shipments reached more than 1.3 million ports and $661 million in revenue in 4Q17. 
• 100Gb now accounts for 9.6% of total market revenue, up from just 4.8% in the same quarter a year ago. 
• 25Gb/50Gb Ethernet switch products continue to gain traction. Shipments exceeded 1 million ports with $124 million in revenue in 4Q17. 
• Growth in 25Gb, 50Gb, 100Gb continue to negatively impact the 40Gb segment. 40Gb port shipments decreased 6.9% year over year and revenue was down 11.2% for all of 2017. 
• The 10Gb market continues to see healthy growth but pricing pressure is holding back revenue increases. 
• 10Gb shipments in 4Q17 grew 37.2% year over year while revenues decreased 2.7%. Meanwhile, 1Gb remains the primary connectivity technology for enterprise campus and branch deployments, driving 1Gb port shipments to 112.6 million in 4Q17, growing 5.4% year over year with market share remaining steady at 66.7% of all ports shipped.