If you look at history, cabling infrastructure has generally been in place ahead of network adapters and switches. That was certainly the case when the market transitioned from 10/100 to 1Gigabit Ethernet. And BASE-T technologies using twisted-pair cables have been the volume leader during  each transition.

Same thing is happening here today with 10GBASE-T, short for 10Gigabit Ethernet over twisted-pair cables.  10GBASE-T can utilize the widely deployed Cat6, 6A or 7 cable plants. 

But wait, why would anyone need 10G in the data center?  

Simply put, 10G will reduce the economics of data center infrastructure – less cables, switches and adapters, and increase server virtualization density. And 10GBASE-T will make this process easy, and cost-effectively.

Watch this video testimonial featuring technology experts across the 10GBASE-T ecosystem:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/prod_presentation_10GBASEvideo.html

If you are looking for a technology primer on 10GBASE-T, this FAQ is a very quick read and can get you up to speed in 10 minutes: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/qa_c67-575047.html

And if you think 10G and 10GBASE-T are only for big organizations with big budgets, think again:

2 weeks ago I learned an impressive story from a mid-sized organization who’s at the forefront of migrating to 10GBASE-T: Human Kinetics, a Champaign Illinois-based worldwide information leader in physical wellness is adopting 10GBASE-T to double its server virtualization density to 30:1. How can it afford to do that in such a tough economic environment? Through extending its networking asset life cycles: By mixing Cisco’s new 10GBASE-T line cards with its existing 1G line cards on the Catalyst 6500 server access switches, Human Kinetics can instantly remove server I/O bottleneck without making wholesale changes to its network topology. And its recently upgraded Cat6A and 7 cable plants can be put into good use immediately.

Check back my blog soon on this story.

Feng