Q1 Ethernet switch sales doubled YoY

“The rapid expansion of AI clusters continues to drive strong demand for high-performance back-end networks, with Ethernet maintaining a clear lead despite a rebound in InfiniBand,” says Dell’Oro  vp Sameh Boujelbene,  “InfiniBand sales more than tripled during the quarter, supported by the ramp of 800 Gbps switches shipping with NVIDIA’s Blackwell Ultra platform. However, while greenfield deployments may have contributed to some of this growth, we believe a significant portion of this demand  was tied to upgrades of the installed base in brownfield deployments rather than greenfield expansion.”

“The Ethernet vendor landscape in AI back-end networks remains highly dynamic. Celestica regained the leading position during the quarter, followed closely by NVIDIA. Arista ranked third, despite a significant portion of its AI-related product revenue being deferred. Including Arista’s deferred revenue for the quarter, its AI back-end network sales would have been very close to those of Celestica and NVIDIA. Cisco recorded the largest share gain during the quarter and ranked fourth. We expect ongoing customer diversification, vendor competition, and the transition to higher speeds to continue driving share shifts in this market,” added Boujelbene.

800 Gbps switches accounted for the vast majority of the Ethernet switch shipments and revenues in AI back-end networks during the quarter.

1600 Gbps switches have begun sampling and are projected to ramp in the second half of 2026, creating new growth opportunities and potential share shifts in the market.

See all our Ethernet content.