Analyst: Google making its own 10GbE switches

Google may have developed and deployed its own 10 Gb/s Ethernet switches, according to a Wall Street analyst citing multiple sources.

In his blog Friday, Nyquist Capital analyst Andrew Schmitt said conversations with sources at carriers and equipment and component vendors led him to conclude that the search giant had designed, built and deployed 10-GbE switches for interconnecting servers in its data centers.

Schmitt believes Google’s switch is based on Broadcom’s 20-port 10GbE silicon, with interconnects based on SFP+, next-generation small-form-factor pluggable transceivers. But Schmitt believes the gear deviates from optical industry standards in accordance with Google’s unique needs.

The approach mirrors the ad-hoc, low-cost approach Google is thought to have taken with its server clusters, using a mix of off-the-shelf gear and custom software to best suit its business model.

“This non-standard and very low-cost optical format should prove just as attractive to other data center customers,” Schmitt wrote. “Google’s implementation…will resonate through the equipment and component industries.”

The device Schmitt believes Google to have built resembles in some respects switches sold by Arastra, he said. “Arastra may be the commercialization of Google’s technology and the ultimate supplier to Google itself.”

Two years ago, UBS Investment Research analysts believed Infinera and Adva Optical Networking may have been supplying Google with dense wavelength division multiplexing gear for an extensive optical network. Last year Global Crossing executives obliquely referred to “players like” Google driving demand for its dark fiber.

Schmitt’s inquiries began, he said, when he noticed unexplained gaps in the flow of component shipments.

“Through our investigative research, Nyquist Capital reached the conclusion that, 12 months ago, Google took a look at the state of the art in 10GbE switching equipment and decided that it could do better,” Schmitt wrote. “The reasons behind this decision will have a large impact on how the small but rapidly growing 10GbE equipment and component market evolves.”