HP signs on high-speed networking start-up

Hewlett-Packard has signed a deal to sell network adapters from start-up S2io that the companies say can transfer data 10 times faster than today's widespread standard.

S2io's Xframe adapters can transfer 10 gigabits of data per second and will be available on HP's Unix, the companies plan to announce Monday.

Servers have had 1gbps Ethernet adapters built in for years, and S2io is banking on the steadily growing appetite for higher networking bandwidth. But it will be a long time before 10gbps is mainstream, predicted Insight64 analyst Nathan Brookwood.

"I don't think servers are going to be going to 10 gigabits en masse for quite a while," in part because the adapters use optical fibers to transmit data, rather than the less-expensive copper wires used for 1gbps networking, Brookwood said. "Until someone figures out how to do 10 gigabits over copper, it's going to be something only very large servers or switches tend to use."

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our Terms of Use.