After years of speculation about a possible IPO or acquisition, Force10 Networks finally made a move this week, announcing a planned merger with Turin Networks. Force10 has historically focused on the 10 Gigabit Ethernet market, and would have a hard time surviving the telecom bust had it chased after the Gigabit market dominated by Cisco, Extreme, and Foundry (now part of Brocade). But with a new IEEE standard coming out next year promising even higher line rates, many are now wondering if a startup will be able to grab share from the traditional switch vendors by focusing on 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet.
How 100 Gigabit Ethernet Markets Will Differ from 10
January 7, 2009