Ethernet Storage Fabric Market By Component (Hardware, Software, Services); By Switch Type (Top-of-Rack, Leaf, Spine); By Protocol (RoCE, iWARP, TCP/IP); By End User (Cloud Service Providers, Enterprises, Telecom Providers, Government & Defense); By Geography — Segment Revenue Estimation & Forecast, 2024–2030

Introduction And Strategic Context

The Global Ethernet Storage Fabric Market is projected to reach $6.8 billion by 2030 , up from an estimated $2.9 billion in 2024 , growing at a compelling CAGR of 15.4% during the forecast period, confirms Strategic Market Research.

 

At its core, Ethernet Storage Fabric (ESF) technology is reshaping how enterprise data moves across storage networks. Unlike traditional Fibre Channel or iSCSI, ESF brings high-bandwidth, low-latency transport using familiar Ethernet protocols — and that’s a big deal. In 2024, this isn’t just about faster data transfers. It’s about preparing for storage-intensive AI workloads, real-time analytics, and decentralized cloud-native environments.

 

What’s really fueling demand? It’s not just hyperscale data centers anymore. Mid-sized enterprises and cloud-native SaaS providers are realizing they can’t scale on legacy SAN architectures. Add to that the rising adoption of NVMe -over-Fabrics ( NVMe-oF ) , which thrives on Ethernet-based transport, and suddenly ESF isn’t a niche—it’s foundational infrastructure.

 

Strategically, the market intersects multiple macro forces:

• Edge computing is demanding local, high-speed data access.

• Cloud repatriation is pushing enterprises to rethink on-prem storage agility.

• AI/ML workloads are shifting performance needs closer to storage fabrics than compute cores.

• And with Ethernet costs per port dropping, CFOs finally see performance and budget aligning.

 

Key stakeholders driving this transformation include OEMs , hyperscalers , enterprises with hybrid IT , cloud service providers , and infrastructure investors . OEMs are revamping server boards and switch architectures to align with RoCEv2 and TCP-based NVMe . Meanwhile, cloud providers are experimenting with disaggregated storage over 100GbE and beyond. Even telecoms are in the game, eyeing Ethernet fabrics to support 5G Core data mobility.

 

Put simply, Ethernet Storage Fabric isn’t just a better network—it’s a storage strategy built for a post-SAN world.

 

Market Segmentation And Forecast Scope

The Ethernet Storage Fabric market is typically segmented across four key dimensions: By Component , By Switch Type , By Protocol , and By End User . Each reveals how the market is evolving technically, commercially, and operationally.

Let’s break that down:

By Component

• Hardware

• Software

• Services

Hardware accounted for roughly 61% of the market in 2024 , largely driven by demand for high-speed Ethernet switches, NICs, and storage adapters. But software is gaining traction too. That’s where the intelligence lives — orchestrating fabric paths, enabling multi-tenant environments, and integrating with software-defined storage layers.

Here’s the twist: Services will likely see the fastest CAGR through 2030, especially as enterprises rely on consulting and integration expertise to deploy NVMe-oF at scale.

 

By Switch Type

• Top-of-Rack ( ToR )

• Leaf

• Spine

Leaf-spine architectures are the backbone of modern storage fabrics. Among these, Spine switches are seeing increasing investment because they handle the bulk of east-west traffic in scale-out data centers . Traditional ToR designs are fading in high-performance use cases due to limited scalability.

 

By Protocol

• RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet)

• iWARP

• TCP/IP

RoCEv2 is emerging as the preferred protocol thanks to ultra-low latency, but TCP/IP still dominates in hybrid cloud scenarios. Many early adopters are running dual-stack deployments as they transition.

 

By End User

• Cloud Service Providers

• Enterprises

• Telecom Providers

• Government & Defense

Right now, Cloud Service Providers hold the lion’s share, given their large-scale infrastructure and NVMe -over-Fabrics push. But enterprise adoption is set to accelerate fastest — especially among banks, retailers, and video-heavy media firms adopting edge storage models.

 

By Region

• North America

• Europe

• Asia Pacific

• Latin America

• Middle East & Africa

We’ll explore these regional dynamics in more depth in Section 5. For now, it’s worth noting that North America led with over 40% of the market in 2024 , while Asia Pacific is shaping up to be the fastest-growing region thanks to aggressive hyperscaler investments in countries like India, Singapore, and China.

This segmentation helps us understand not just who’s buying, but what they’re buying and why. Whether it’s a hyperscaler upgrading from 25GbE to 200GbE or a media company struggling with file-based storage over NFS — use cases are diverging fast.

 

Market Trends And Innovation Landscape

Innovation is happening fast in the Ethernet Storage Fabric space — not just around hardware, but in how protocols, software, and system architectures are evolving to meet the demands of a data-heavy world.

Let’s look at what’s shaping this market right now:

1. NVMe -over-Fabrics ( NVMe-oF ) is Driving Redesigns

The push toward NVMe-oF , especially using RoCEv2, is fundamentally changing storage network design. Instead of relying on centralized SANs or traditional Ethernet IP stacks, enterprises are building disaggregated storage that talks directly over Ethernet — with near-local latency.

One large cloud provider recently shifted to RoCE-based NVMe-oF clusters, reducing storage latency by over 40% compared to its Fibre Channel environment.

This isn’t incremental change. It’s architectural.

 

2. SmartNICs and DPU Integration

Another trend gaining momentum is the integration of SmartNICs and Data Processing Units (DPUs) . These offload network and storage traffic processing from CPUs, which is critical in latency-sensitive environments.

Players like NVIDIA and AMD ( Pensando ) are embedding DPUs in Ethernet switches and NICs, enabling more intelligent packet routing and inline data services like compression, encryption, and telemetry — all without touching the host CPU.

This shift allows Ethernet fabrics to handle more storage functions independently, making them smarter and lighter on the system.

 

3. Rise of Composable Infrastructure

Composable and disaggregated infrastructure is no longer a buzzword. It’s becoming practical — and Ethernet fabrics are central to it. Vendors are enabling on-demand provisioning of compute and storage pools, all stitched together via ultra-low-latency Ethernet.

This is especially relevant for enterprise private clouds where flexibility and CapEx optimization matter.

 

4. Open Ethernet and Software-Defined Fabric Management

Closed networking ecosystems are fading. Many operators are moving toward open Ethernet switches with programmable pipelines (e.g., using P4). Combined with software-defined fabric managers , this allows administrators to dynamically reroute traffic, implement micro-segmentation, and scale storage lanes as needed.

We’re seeing a clear break from static, CLI-heavy setups to API-driven, telemetry-rich networks.

 

5. Vendor Collaboration is Accelerating Innovation

Several strategic partnerships are shaping the market. For example:

• Intel and Google Cloud co-developing DPUs for next-gen Ethernet fabrics.

• Broadcom enabling switch silicon optimized for NVMe-oF workloads.

• Cisco and Pure Storage aligning on end-to-end Ethernet SAN replacements.

These collaborations are speeding up real-world deployments by ensuring interoperability and performance tuning across the stack.

 

Expert Insight:

“We used to think Ethernet was good enough for file and object storage. Now it's ready for block-level, mission-critical workloads — and that's a game changer.” — CTO, Leading European Telco

Overall, the Ethernet Storage Fabric market is transitioning from a performance-driven conversation to an architecture-first dialogue. The ability to build flexible, protocol-aware, software-managed fabrics is what separates future-ready data centers from legacy-bound ones.

 

Competitive Intelligence And Benchmarking

The Ethernet Storage Fabric market isn’t a free-for-all. It’s becoming a strategic battleground where chipmakers, switch vendors, storage innovators, and cloud infrastructure players are carving out territory. Let’s break down the moves from some of the most influential companies shaping this space.

1. NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s acquisition of Mellanox was a power move — and it’s paying off. Mellanox’s ConnectX NICs and Spectrum switches are foundational to many NVMe -over-Fabrics deployments. NVIDIA now combines high-performance networking with GPU-driven AI workloads, giving it an edge in AI data centers that need storage fabrics tuned for parallelism.

They're not just selling gear — they’re selling an ecosystem that bridges storage, compute, and acceleration.

 

2. Broadcom

Broadcom holds a strong grip on the switch ASIC market. Its Tomahawk and Trident chipsets are inside most of the hyperscale Ethernet fabric gear today. Broadcom doesn’t go direct-to-market often — instead, it fuels OEMs and white-box vendors. That means it influences performance standards without showing up in many end-user RFPs.

Behind nearly every top-performing fabric switch, there’s a Broadcom chip doing the heavy lifting.

 

3. Intel

Intel plays across multiple layers — from SmartNICs to DPUs to open Ethernet initiatives. With its Mount Evans DPU and support for programmable switch silicon, Intel is enabling cloud providers to build scalable storage fabrics with embedded telemetry and workload isolation.

They’re also a key supporter of NVMe /TCP , a lower-barrier protocol for Ethernet fabrics that doesn’t require specialized NICs.

 

4. Arista Networks

Arista’s strength lies in its software — particularly EOS (Extensible Operating System) . The company builds high-performance Ethernet switches optimized for storage and AI workloads. They’re favored by enterprises that want open, scriptable control over their network — something that's critical when tuning a storage fabric.

Think of Arista as the choice for operators who want high-speed hardware with cloud-like software control.

 

5. Cisco

Cisco is still a dominant player in enterprise and hybrid cloud data centers . Its Nexus 9000 series supports RoCEv2, making it viable for NVMe -over-Fabric rollouts. But what makes Cisco stand out is its deep integration with security, observability, and application-layer tools — which many storage architects appreciate in regulated industries.

Their strategy leans toward reliability and ecosystem trust rather than bleeding-edge innovation.

 

6. AMD (via Pensando )

Since acquiring Pensando , AMD has made waves in the DPU space. Pensando’s architecture enables inline services like firewalling and telemetry directly within the Ethernet fabric. That’s a big deal for edge deployments and secure enterprise workloads where you want performance and policy enforcement without latency tradeoffs .

 

7. Pure Storage

Unlike others on this list, Pure isn’t a switch vendor. But its FlashArray and DirectFlash Fabric offerings are among the first enterprise-grade storage systems built natively for NVMe -over-Fabrics over Ethernet. They’ve made Ethernet a primary transport, not a fallback — and that bold stance is shifting expectations across the storage community.

This market isn’t just about who builds faster switches. It’s about who understands how to orchestrate data across complex infrastructures. The leaders here are the ones creating synergy between silicon, software, and scale.

 

Regional Landscape And Adoption Outlook

Ethernet Storage Fabric adoption looks very different depending on where you are. While North America continues to lead in total deployment value, growth momentum is rapidly shifting eastward. Let’s walk through the regional breakdown — and why it matters.

North America

Still the largest market, North America represented over 40% of global revenue in 2024 . The U.S. alone is home to most of the major hyperscalers , including Amazon Web Services , Google Cloud , and Microsoft Azure — all of which are actively deploying 100GbE+ fabrics to support NVMe-oF workloads.

Enterprises in financial services, healthcare, and media are also leaning into fabric-based storage for high-speed analytics and AI training. There’s strong adoption of RoCEv2 , driven by availability of skilled IT teams and high infrastructure budgets.

But here's the catch: growth here is steady, not explosive . Most large deployments have already happened or are underway. The opportunity now is in upgrades — 25GbE to 100/200GbE, or block-level integration with composable infrastructure.

 

Europe

Europe is more fragmented in its adoption curve. Countries like Germany , France , and the Netherlands are leading in data center innovation, often aligning fabric deployments with GDPR-compliant private cloud initiatives .

We’re also seeing growing interest in open Ethernet and DPU-enabled fabrics among telecoms in Scandinavia and the UK , especially as part of their edge and 5G buildouts.

That said, economic constraints and cautious IT budgets in southern and eastern Europe are slowing widespread adoption. For many, NVMe -over-TCP is more viable than RoCE due to lower hardware requirements.

 

Asia Pacific

This is the region to watch.

Asia Pacific is on track to be the fastest-growing market through 2030, with countries like China , India , Japan , and Singapore making aggressive bets on Ethernet-based infrastructure.

• China is building national AI and cloud platforms, driving massive NVMe fabric rollouts using domestically produced Ethernet gear.

• India is seeing a spike in Tier 2 and Tier 3 data centers moving to fabric architectures for scalability.

• Singapore and South Korea are early adopters of composable storage environments — ideal fits for Ethernet Storage Fabric.

Cloud-first strategies and government-backed digital transformation projects are creating a massive tailwind in this region.

Unlike North America, these deployments are greenfield — giving operators the freedom to leapfrog older Fibre Channel and go straight to Ethernet fabrics.

 

Latin America

Adoption in Latin America remains slow, but not absent. Brazil and Mexico are making early moves, largely driven by regional cloud providers and fintech infrastructure upgrades.

The biggest hurdle isn’t technology — it’s cost. Ethernet Storage Fabric deployments still require high-end NICs, switches, and integration talent, which aren’t yet widely available here. That said, we expect growth to improve as white-box Ethernet gear becomes more accessible.

 

Middle East & Africa

MEA is still in early-stage deployment mode. Nations like UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading investments, especially as part of smart city and national cloud projects. These efforts are often supported by partnerships with U.S. and Chinese tech firms, who bring both hardware and engineering capacity.

There’s interest in using Ethernet fabrics to support 5G core buildouts, but widespread adoption is gated by training, talent, and supply chain constraints.

 

End-User Dynamics And Use Case

Who’s actually using Ethernet Storage Fabrics — and why?

This isn’t just about cloud giants anymore. Adoption is branching out across sectors that deal with massive, high-speed data movement. Let’s break down the key end-user profiles and how their motivations differ.

1. Cloud Service Providers

Unsurprisingly, cloud providers still lead in sheer volume. They were first to recognize the inefficiency of traditional SANs at scale. Today, they're building disaggregated, fabric-based storage architectures to separate compute and storage cleanly — essential for scaling multitenant cloud platforms.

These players prioritize latency, throughput, and automation . RoCEv2 and SmartNIC -based fabrics dominate here. It’s not uncommon to see 100/200GbE rollouts with full NVMe-oF support across availability zones.

 

2. Enterprises

Large enterprises , especially in financial services, healthcare, and media , are catching up quickly. Their workloads — AI model training, real-time analytics, PACS imaging systems, or video rendering — can no longer tolerate bottlenecks from legacy iSCSI or Fibre Channel setups.

That’s driving a move toward storage fabrics that integrate directly with compute clusters , enabling faster data access and lower latency — without needing proprietary SAN stacks.

Even more interesting: many of these companies are deploying Ethernet fabrics as part of private or hybrid cloud modernization , not greenfield data centers . So, they’re looking for backward-compatible designs and gradual transition strategies (often with TCP/IP as the bridge protocol).

 

3. Telecom Providers

As telecoms deploy 5G Core , they need storage solutions that can handle ultra-low latency, distributed architectures. Ethernet Storage Fabrics are emerging as a viable path, especially when paired with DPUs to enable inline services and workload isolation.

These deployments often stretch across central offices, edge sites, and regional hubs , making protocol flexibility and fabric automation must-haves.

 

4. Government and Defense

Although still limited, certain government and defense organizations are exploring Ethernet fabrics — mainly for secure data processing and simulation environments that benefit from disaggregated infrastructure.

Security-conscious agencies tend to prefer closed-loop fabrics , controlled internally, with deterministic performance and tight access controls. Adoption is slow but growing, particularly in cyber- defense , intelligence, and aerospace research.

 

Use Case Snapshot

A tertiary hospital system in South Korea was facing data lags in AI-assisted radiology due to legacy storage bottlenecks. After migrating to a RoCE-based Ethernet Storage Fabric , integrated with SmartNICs across its imaging clusters, the system reduced CT scan processing times by over 30% .

Doctors were able to review AI-enhanced imaging results faster, which directly impacted treatment planning speed. The fabric also allowed the hospital to expand into multi-site storage without central bottlenecks.

At a high level, the biggest adoption drivers across all user groups are:

• Need for scale-out, shared storage that behaves like local

• Pressure to improve latency and throughput for AI/ML

• Growing demand for hybrid environments with storage disaggregation

Ethernet fabrics deliver on all three — but only when designed with the right protocols, automation layers, and workload awareness.

 

Recent Developments + Opportunities & Restraints

Recent Developments (Last 2 Years)

Several notable moves in the Ethernet Storage Fabric ecosystem have reshaped the market landscape — from product launches to strategic alliances:

• NVIDIA introduced Spectrum-X , a new Ethernet networking platform purpose-built for AI workloads, including high-performance storage fabrics using RoCEv2. It was designed to bridge storage and GPU compute more efficiently.

• Broadcom launched its Tomahawk 5 switch chip , pushing 800G Ethernet capabilities — crucial for scaling Ethernet fabrics in AI and hyperscale environments.

• Intel unveiled its Mount Evans DPU , offering offload capabilities for storage and security in Ethernet fabrics. It aims to reduce CPU bottlenecks and enable programmable storage fabrics for cloud operators.

• Pure Storage released DirectFlash Fabric enhancements , improving NVMe -over-TCP support to reach lower latency thresholds typically reserved for RoCE setups.

• Arista Networks expanded EOS support for NVMe traffic monitoring and fabric telemetry , helping enterprises diagnose storage issues in real time over Ethernet networks.

 

Opportunities

• AI Infrastructure Boom:
  As AI models get larger, they need faster storage access — not just faster compute. Ethernet fabrics are the missing link, especially in GPU-rich environments where RoCE-based fabrics can slash I/O wait times.

• Hybrid Cloud and Edge Expansion:
  Organizations are embracing distributed and edge-native architectures . Ethernet fabrics allow storage resources to move with workloads across sites — from core to edge to cloud — without sacrificing performance.

• Open Standards and Vendor-Neutral Deployments:
  The rise of open Ethernet and software-defined storage fabrics means enterprises can avoid lock-in. Vendors offering programmable, protocol-flexible solutions will find strong demand among cloud-native enterprises and Tier 2 service providers.

 

Restraints

• High Upfront Cost:
  While long-term TCO is compelling, upfront costs remain a barrier. Deploying high-speed Ethernet NICs, switches, and SmartNICs — plus hiring skilled fabric engineers — can strain budgets, especially outside hyperscale.

• Skills Gap in Managing RoCE and DPUs:
  RoCEv2, SmartNICs , and DPUs require a different mindset than traditional networking or SAN storage. Many IT teams still lack the experience to optimize and troubleshoot these complex fabrics, slowing down enterprise rollouts.

 

7.1. Report Coverage Table

Report Attribute	Details
Forecast Period	2024 – 2030
Market Size Value in 2024	USD 2.9 Billion
Revenue Forecast in 2030	USD 6.8 Billion
Overall Growth Rate	CAGR of 15.4% (2024–2030)
Base Year for Estimation	2024
Historical Data	2019 – 2023
Unit	USD Million, CAGR (2024–2030)
Segmentation	By Component, Switch Type, Protocol, End User, Region
By Component	Hardware, Software, Services
By Switch Type	Top-of-Rack (ToR), Leaf, Spine
By Protocol	RoCE, iWARP, TCP/IP
By End User	Cloud Service Providers, Enterprises, Telecom Providers, Government & Defense
By Region	North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa
Country Scope	U.S., UK, Germany, China, India, Japan, Brazil, etc.
Market Drivers	- Rise of AI/ML workloads - Disaggregation of storage from compute - Growth in open Ethernet and SmartNICs
Customization Option	Available upon request