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High performance data center connectivity provider Mellanox (News - Alert) Technologies, Ltd. has unwrapped its next-generation switch silicon, SwitchX with virtual protocol interconnect (VPI) technology. According to the maker, SwitchX provides industry-best performance, efficiency and scalability for up to 36-ports of FDR 56Gbps InfiniBand or 40 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).

With unprecedented levels of on-chip and SerDes integration, SwitchX can operate as an InfiniBand switch or Ethernet switch (including Data Center Bridging - DCB) with extremely low-latency and power while providing best-in-class switching capabilities in each category. In addition, the IC includes integrated convergence technology for Fibre Channel NPIV gateways.

SwitchX provides more than 4 Terabits per second (Tbps) of non-blocking switching throughput and allows new levels of protocol flexibility, simplicity and reliability to eliminate networking bottlenecks in modern data centers for server-to-server, server-to-storage or storage-to-storage connectivity. It delivers next-generation service-oriented switch capabilities and enables convergence of local area network (LAN), storage area network (SAN) and inter processor communications (IPC (News - Alert)) service architectures. It allows flexible partitioning of the network into multiple management domains to support multi-tenancy and the delivery of an extensive array of network services over a common infrastructure.

Combined with Mellanox’s (www.mellanox.com) ConnectX family of VPI adapters, SwitchX provides an efficient end-to-end interconnect solution that delivers superior application performance, said the manufacturer. Data center costs are reduced through efficiency, flexible network repurposing and I/O consolidation. The combination of application performance and infrastructure optimization maximizes return-on-investment in multiple markets including high-performance computing, financial services, database, Web 2.0, virtualized data centers, Internet and the Cloud, Mellanox said.

According to Crehan Research, the combined InfiniBand, 10 and 40 Gigabit Data Center Ethernet Switch market is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent, from approximately $4 billion in 2010 to over $13 billion in 2015.

“This is a market that is already experiencing rapid expansion and opportunity,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. “Switches that can offer multiple data center protocols and application flexibility on high bandwidth, low latency, energy efficient platforms are likely to do best from this expansion,” added Crehan.

“The new class of data centers requires lossless, high density, low power switching capabilities that removes bottlenecks, supports convergence and maximizes efficiency for the best return-on-investment,” commented Eyal Waldman, chairman, president, and CEO of Mellanox Technologies. “SwitchX delivers on these requirements with best-in-class features and performance over both InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols for maximum flexibility. We are proud to provide the industry’s first 56Gbps FDR InfiniBand and the highest density Ethernet switch, both in the same IC with SwitchX,” noted Waldman.