Facebook testing super-fast Ethernet switch

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is testing the Wedge 100, a super-fast Ethernet switch that has 32 ports and is capable of delivering data at 100-Gig speeds. The switch, which Facebook built, will be used to move data around the company's server farms, according to Jay Parikh, Facebook's global head of engineering and infrastructure, as reported by VentureBeat.

Parikh added that Facebook currently uses a switch that transports data at speeds of about 40-Gigs which means this new Wedge100 would effectively more than double existing speeds.  

Although big-name vendors like Cisco, Arista and Mellanox currently offer Gigabit Ethernet switches, Facebook typically prefers to build its own hardware based upon designs it shares through the Open Compute Project.

The faster switch will allow the social networking giant to host more videos and photos for its network of more than 1 billion users that are quickly becoming accustomed to sharing videos and other large files with their networks of friends across the globe.

According to TechTimes, Facebook's future Wedge 100-Gig switch can process 3.2 terabits per second.  The Wedge will have 32 ports, which is the same as today's Wedge, but  the ports will support a higher speed.  

Research firm Dell'Oro Group predicted earlier this year that the growth of data centers would be a boon for Ethernet switch vendors, particularly from white box/bare metal switching, which reached 7 percent of data revenue last year.  However the firm also said that the Ethernet switch market is fragmented as the campus, data center, small/medium business (SMB) and carrier Ethernet segments grow and contract in different ways.

For more:
- See this VentureBeat article
-See this TechTimes article

Related articles:
Dell'Oro: Data centers to drive new Ethernet switch growth
Carrier Ethernet switch revenues rise 32%, but SDN hesitation drives routers down in Q3, says Infonetics