Cisco increases lead in networking hardware
The networking giant expands its lead in the networking market by 12 percent in the third quarter of 1999, according to a new study.
According to a quarterly report by the Dell'Oro Group, total sales of shared hubs and local area network switches grew 5 percent, or $150 million, to $3 billion in the third quarter, with Cisco garnering 12 percent of the sales in that category.
After Cisco, 3Com came next with an 8 percent growth rate during the quarter, trailed by Nortel Networks and Cabletron.
Switches are a key piece of equipment for helping to direct data traffic on a computer network.
Other categories of networking equipment turned in strong sales. Companies showing strong growth in the Layer 3 Ethernet switch market were Cisco, with $61 million, and Cabletron, with $15 million. Gigabit Ethernet shipments, which grew 46 percent quarter-over-quarter, were driven by an average price decline of about 20 percent. Fast Ethernet port shipments grew 22 percent quarter-over-quarter and the market is on pace to exceed $2.6 billion in revenue for 1999, according to the survey.