MACSec Helps Pave the Way to End-to-End Data Security
As consumers and businesses put more data in the Cloud, the importance of securing that data increases. In just the last year, we have seen advanced threats and attacks by various entities to hack into that data and hyperscalers push back with both public and private mechanisms. Securing that data goes beyond just basic encryption or securing a server, and the role of the network is critical to better protection of data.
Many cloud customers are looking at providing end-to-end security to ensure, as best they can, that data can not be compromised. MACSec plays an important role in the future on how networks talk to each other and how the secure transmission of data between different locations. Security is especially important with 400 Gbps, as Cloud providers adopt 400 Gbps, it is not only being used for transmission within the data center but also Data Center Interconnect (DCI). Cloud workloads will increasingly require secure connectivity between data centers.
Looking at the Ethernet Switch and Router markets, we project the percent of ports shipping with MACSec will increase significantly over our forecast horizon. We expect vendors will continue to offer versions with and without MACSec, but as we move forward in time and have more purpose-built offerings for the hyperscalers that some products will only ship with MACSec.
The additional features and functionality included in Ethernet switches and Routers are positive for the industry. It not only increases features which help grow ASPs and revenues, but it also increases the amount of Ethernet ports shipped by expanding the number of use cases. 400 Gbps DCI is a great example of feature and addressable market expansion.
By Alan Weckel, Founding Analyst, 650 Group.