The Ethernet switch revenue totaled $4.7 billion in Q1
2012, down 9 percent from the previous quarter, but up by double-digit
percentages from the year-ago 1st quarter.
Revenue and port growth was well balanced as vendors
continued to successfully sell higher-priced products (such as data center
switches) and faster ports.
Following a 31 percent spike the previous quarter, 10G
Ethernet port shipments declined 1 percent in 1Q12; quarterly shipments are
still double that of a year ago, benefitting from data center upgrades, 10G
server adoption, server virtualization, and core network buildouts.
40G Ethernet sales jumped 50 percent in 1Q12 from 4Q11,
driven by dedicated 40G fixed switches (16xQSFP+).