The 10 Best-Selling Networking Switch Brands In Q2 2017

Top 10 Switching Vendors

Cisco remains the dominant force in networking switches sold through the channel during the second quarter of 2017, according to new data from The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. The NPD Group tracks monthly technology sales-out information from the largest IT distributors and commercial resellers (including CDW, Insight, PCM, Zones and others) in North America, down to the item level and with overlap removed.

The total number of units sold during second-quarter 2017 was 529,401, down 7 percent year-over-year from 566,911, with every major vendor in the space showing declines including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear, Juniper Networks, Brocade Communications and TP-Link.

CRN breaks down the top 10 leaders by brand that sold the most switching units from April to June in 2017.

10. Extreme Networks

Unit Share: 1%

San Jose, Calif.-based Extreme Networks saw the strongest percentage growth year-over-year in terms of units sold on NPD's list. Extreme sold 5,081 units during the quarter, up 9.2 percent compared with second-quarter 2016. The vendor's unit share slightly rose from 0.8 percent to 1 percent year-over-year.

9. Linksys

Unit Share: 1.5%

Linksys is the only other vendor on this list alongside Extreme Networks to show a positive growth. The Irvine, Calif.-based vendor sold 7,909 units through distribution during the quarter, up 7.2 percent year-over-year from 7,381. Linksys unit share climbed from 1.3 percent in second-quarter 2016 to 1.5 percent.

8. Brocade Communications

Unit Share: 2.1%

Brocade Communications, which plans to sell its ICX Switch product family and Ruckus Wireless division to Arris this year for $800 million, sold 11,250 units during the second quarter, down 14.2 percent year over year. San Jose, Calif.-based Brocade saw a slight drop in unit share from 2.3 percent in second-quarter 2016 to 2.1 percent. Brocade's average selling price (ASP) increased 112 percent year over year.

7. Juniper Networks

Unit Share: 2.4%

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper Networks sold 12,471 units through distribution during the quarter, representing a drop of 10.7 percent year-over-year after selling nearly 14,000 in second-quarter 2016. However, Juniper's unit share has stayed the same year-over-year, hovering around 2.4 percent.

6. Trendnet

Unit Share: 2.7%

Trendnet saw the largest percentage decline in units sold during the quarter compared with any vendor on this list, dropping 28.3 percent year-over-year. Torrance, Calif.-based Trendnet sold 14,299 units in the second quarter down from nearly 20,000 units sold in the same quarter one year ago. The vendor's unit share dropped from 3.5 percent in second-quarter 2016 to 2.7 percent. Trendnet’s ASP jumped 46 percent year over year.

5. TP-Link

Unit Share: 4.1%

China-based TP-Link sold 21,729 units during the quarter, down 20.6 percent year-over-year from 27,383. The vendor's unit share also dropped from 4.8 percent in second-quarter 2016 to 4.1 percent.

4. D-Link Systems

Unit Share: 5.6%

D-Link sold 29,443 units during the quarter, representing a 2.9 percent decline year-over-year from 30,329 units sold in second-quarter 2016. However, the Taiwan-based vendor saw its unit share increase from 5.3 percent one year ago to 5.6 percent. D-Link’s ASP increased 4 percent year over year.

3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Unit Share: 11.6%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise saw the largest drop year-over-year in the amount of units sold during the quarter out of any vendor on the list. Palo Alto, Calif.-based HPE sold 61,619 units in the second quarter, compared with 69,442 in second-quarter 2016, representing an 11.3 percent drop. HPE's unit share dropped from 12.2 percent one year ago to 11.6 percent.

2. Netgear

Unit Share: 19%

The San Jose, Calif.-based vendor is the closest challenger to Cisco with 19 percent unit share, up from 18.6 percent share one year ago. Netgear sold 100,594 units in the quarter, down 4.6 percent year-over-year compared with 105,391. The company’s ASP declined 7 percent year over year.

1. Cisco

Unit Share: 43.6%

The San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant pulled in a commanding 43.6 percent unit share during the quarter, up from 41.1 percent year-over-year. Cisco sold 230,938 units in the quarter, down 1 percent from the 233,188 it sold in second-quarter 2016.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X 48-port Ethernet switch with PoE was the second-highest-selling switch of the quarter. Cisco had four other switches crack the top 10 of the most sold hardware during the quarter, which includes the Cisco Meraki Cloud Managed MS225 24-port switch.