Any hopes Juniper EX8200 customers had that the core switch would grow to support next-generation 40/100G Ethernet, mobility, media-rich traffic, virtualization or cloud have been dashed.

A Cisco-funded router startup has unveiled its first product, which the company says implements breakthrough silicon-to-photonics circuitry for scaling service provider networks and enabling them for software-defined networking (SDN).

The Ethernet switch market eked out modest growth in 2012 against the backdrop of an uncertain global economy, underscored by weakness in Europe and lower public sector spending.

A decision to oust Cisco in favor of Alcatel-Lucent is saving California State University $100 million.

There was a considerable amount of activity in the data center/cloud switching fabric arena in 2011. That is expected to continue in 2012, along with real world implementations of the next-generation IT technologies.

After years of stagnant or lackluster growth, Extreme Networks tapped Oscar Rodriguez to bring new life to the switch maker in 2010. He scrutinized global operations, streamlined the product line and brought a new focus that he says will really come through this spring with a new wave of switches. Rodriguez shared his goals for Extreme in 2012 with Network World Editor-in-Chief John Dix and Managing Editor Jim Duffy.