Force10 Networks

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks, initially founded as nCore Networks in 1999 by PK Dubey, Naresh Nigam, and Som Sikdar, established itself as a key player in the high-performance networking hardware market. The company's name, a suggestion from avid sailor and founder Som Sikdar, was inspired by the powerful Beaufort Force 10 wind scale, reflecting its focus on high-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet switching and routing products. The business centered on developing and marketing advanced Ethernet switches for data centers, targeting a global clientele that included corporate, educational, and governmental organizations. Its business model involved the direct sale of networking hardware and software, supplemented by 24/7 service and support in over 60 countries.

Force10's product portfolio was known for its Open Cloud Networking framework, which provided flexibility, performance, and automation for data center operators. This was delivered through several product lines of switches and routers, including the E-Series, C-Series, and S-Series, each designed for different network layers from the core to the edge. The company's operating system, FTOS, was notably built on NetBSD, and Force10 made contributions to the NetBSD Foundation to support open development. A significant milestone was the January 2002 release of the E-Series E1200 switch/router, which was among the first to claim line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet switching. By 2011, the company had generated approximately $200 million in trailing 12-month revenue.

The company's trajectory saw a significant shift in January 2009 when it was acquired by Turin Networks. This was followed by a more pivotal event in August 2011, when Dell acquired Force10 Networks to bolster its own enterprise and data center offerings. The acquisition was a strategic move for Dell to compete with other major hardware vendors by integrating networking gear into its portfolio of servers and storage. Following the acquisition, the company was renamed Dell Force10. The Force10 brand was eventually phased out around mid-2013, with its products being fully integrated into the Dell Networking brand.