SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The data center Ethernet switch market delivered a very robust increase in the first half of 2025, with revenues and shipments each growing by 25% year-over-year, according to a new report from Crehan Research. While demand for general data center compute networking was solid, generative AI was a key growth driver of the strong Ethernet switch results. In correlation with the generative AI growth, there was a surge in 800 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch deployments, whose adoption is turning out to be much faster than that of 400GbE. This is especially true for branded 800GbE data center switching with an adoption curve, to date, that is almost one hundred times better than that of 400GbE – see accompanying figure.
“Generative AI has dramatically changed the ramps for new higher Ethernet speeds, driving much steeper and faster adoption curves,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research.
Specific vendor highlights from Crehan’s data center switch report include:
- Arista’s 800GbE shipments neared a 3 million port annualized run-rate in 2Q25, its quickest ever timeframe to approach this quarterly amount with a new Ethernet speed. As a result, Arista took the top market share position in the 800GbE branded data center switch segment.
- Driven by strong China hyperscaler demand, H3C saw its 400GbE shipments more than double in 2Q25, to surpass a million ports in the quarter. H3C currently has the second largest market share in branded data center 400GbE switch shipments.
- Huawei’s data center Ethernet switch revenue almost doubled sequentially on the strength of AI network deployments, and its switches are part of the recently introduced CloudMatrix 384 AI system.
“The networking of large generative AI cluster build-outs is driving some dramatic quarter-to-quarter market share shifts in the highest speeds of the data center Ethernet switch market,” Crehan said.
About Crehan Research Inc.
Crehan Research Inc. produces reports with very detailed statistics and information on the data center switch and server-class adapter & LOM/controller (NIC) markets. The company’s reports are supported with rich insights and context to deliver increased value. For more information about Crehan Research Inc. visit http://www.CrehanResearch.com.
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