There's apparently also a lot of activity going on behind the scenes of at least two InfiniBand startups -- Lane15 Software and InfiniSwitch Corp. -- which were said to be contemplating a merger to please prospective sugar daddy IBM. Some observers say that the happy duo could just as easily include Voltaire. Neither Voltaire nor IBM would comment on the rumors (see InfiniBand Merger in Play?).
Other players still standing in the InfiniBand switch space include InfiniCon Systems Inc. and Topspin Communications Inc. Another company, Paceline Systems Corp., has been actively seeking a buyer and may be running out of road soon (see Paceline Angles for Buyout).
Some analysts doubt whether Voltaire will be able to make much of a dent in the InfiniBand market. "Voltaire is one of those InfiniBand companies that has a shot, but it will be a small one," says Steve Duplessie, senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group Inc. "The market will be dictated by the big OEMs, and as such it would be hard for a little Israeli company to get the nod from a Dell or Compaq. It could happen, but I'd guess the bigger players like InfiniCon or Topspin with more complete feature sets and more financial stability will be the frontrunners." According to Duplessie, InfiniCon and Paceline are clients of Enterprise Storage Group; Topspin and Voltaire are not.
Somekh insists that not only is Voltaire funded through mid-2004 -- the company has raised more than $25 million over the past 18 months -- but that its new suite of products also offers some unique advantages. The six-port ISR 6000 switch router, for instance, is the industrys only IP-to-InfiniBand router based on custom silicon, he claims. The 1U-high box also supports Layers 4 through 7 functionality with content-based intelligent connectivity between TCP/IP networks and InfiniBand fabrics. The ISR 6000 and the 400 HCA are both immediately available, at $7,000 and $995, respectively.
As for the ISR 9600, Somekh claims that its 96 available InfiniBand ports allow for unprecedented scaleability and performance. Voltaire is not revealing the price of this box, which won't be available before April.
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