Thursday, November 8, 2007

Solarflare, SMC Ship 10GBASE-T Products

Irvine-based semiconductor developer Solarflare Communications and SMC Networks, which is also based in Irvine, said today that the two have begun shipping new network interface cards (NICs) and network switches that use Solarflare's technology. The two said that they will begin shipping a 10GBASE-T NIC and switches beginning in Q4. The new products will allow companies to deploy 10 gigabit Ethernet over existing copper wiring. Currently, networking users who have been deploying 10 Gigabit Ethernet have been doing so over optical fiber; the new copper-based equipment promises to make it easier for companies to upgrade the speed of their networks. 10GBASE-T allows for use of existing, twisted pair wiring for high speed networks; that, plus the elimination of expensive optical transceivers, is expected to drop prices for 10G Ethernet deployment.