Mellanox Debuts 12.8 Tbps Switching Platform

Mellanox is continuing to push forward with its efforts to gain share in the data center Ethernet networking switching market.

A key part of Mellanox’s strategy for 2020 is wide deployment of the company’s Spectrum-3 switch ASIC. Spectrum 3 can deliver up to 12.8 Tbps of Ethernet switching capacity and can support a full array of Ethernet ports, ranging from 1GbE all the way up to 400 GbE.

“Mellanox Spectrum-3 offers better performance, more advanced features, and easier management than any other 12.8 terabit switch,” stated Amit Katz, vice president of Ethernet switches at Mellanox.

Beyond just switching bandwidth, the Spectrum-3 has some interesting integrated visibility capabilities, including a feature Mellanox refers to as “What Just Happened (WJH).”

“This feature allows network operators to finally get instant answers to the 5 W’s – When, What, Who, Where and Why as soon as an issue arises,” Mellanox detailed in a specification sheet for the Spectrum-3. “‘What Just Happened’ is open and extendable, making it ideal for integration into third-party network monitoring and analysis tools. “

SN400 Switching Platform Now Shipping

As of March 9, Spectrum-3 is shipping to customers inside of the Mellanox SN4000 switching platform. The SN4000 is available in multiple form factors, including 32 ports of 400GbE, 64 ports of 200GbE and 128 ports of 100/50/25/10GbE.

“Over the last several years, with the Mellanox Spectrum and Mellanox Spectrum-2 product lines, Mellanox has steadily grown its market share in the 100GbE top-of-rack Ethernet switch segment,” stated Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. “The introduction of these new Mellanox Spectrum-3 based switches should enable additional growth for Mellanox in the emerging 200GbE and 400GbE segments.”

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.