Intel to hijack world with InfiniBust – analyst

The minions of the Satan Clara chip factory may be busy at work weaving a fabric to ensnare the entire computing and networking industries, but according to a leading industry analyst, this fabric has a few Rambus-sized holes in it.

InQuest Market Research reckons InfiniBand - for which silicon and software began sampling this week - remains more hype than technology. InfiniBand is a design Chipzilla is pushing to eventually displace PCI/PCI-X, LDT, Rapid I/O, Fibre Channel and even Ethernet. Trouble is, InfiniBand doesn't seem to offer anything over any of the established standards.

"There is an indisputable need in the market for PCI-X," says the report. "It is required as soon as possible to satisfy (in a compatible manner) platform bandwidth requirements that are upon us in the present and immediate future.

"By contrast, InfiniBand is one of several options for the future. It may supersede and obsolete all other present and future I/O technologies as Intel seems to suggest, but there is reason for doubt. As a replacement for PCI-X, the arguments for InfiniBand come up short. As a replacement for Ethernet and Fibre Channel, we also have trouble seeing an unobstructed entry point for InfiniBand."

The InQuest analyst responsible for this glowing Infiniband report is Bert McComas who remains one of the industry's most vocal critics of this controversial memory design.

And McComas doesn't let the "Internet Building Blocking" wannabe forget its expensive Lawsuitzilla mistakes.

"Like an amphibious vehicle that can function on both land and water, but makes neither a good car nor a good boat, InfiniBand tries to portray itself as a jack-of-all-trades, yet finds itself lacking or unproven in many areas. We do not get the impression that Intel is unaware of this (they created it). Nor do we get the impression that Intel is going to let up simply because the market begins to call their bluff.

"The RDRAM fiasco has proven that Intel knows how to take its own medicine when its strategies come back to bite them. InfiniBand could turn out to be an instant smash hit. Or it could turn out to be another test of Intel's intestinal fortitude." ®

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You can read the InQuest report here