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Cisco entered the data-center switch merchant-silicon market to sell the networking chips, software tools, and engineering support behind its own systems to outside customers. Announced with Silicon One on December 11, 2019, the move let Cisco address customers that wanted to build or operate disaggregated equipment instead of buying a complete Cisco switch. Cisco also argued that one architecture spanning routing and switching could lower design complexity and improve performance and operating economics. A contemporaneous Omdia forecast made the timing understandable: proprietary switch silicon was expected to shrink while merchant and programmable silicon grew. Those were Cisco’s strategic claims and a market thesis, not independent proof of financial success.
The strategic change Cisco announced in 2019
Silicon One was presented as a unified architecture for multiple network locations and form factors, not merely as a new chip. Cisco announced it alongside the Cisco 8000 Series and IOS XR7, linking silicon, operating software, optics and systems into a broader networking strategy.
The announcement also changed Cisco’s intended business model. In a November 9, 2021 Cisco blog, executive Rakesh Chopra described the company as “evolving from a pure full systems company to one that also embraces a true disaggregated consumption model for the open-source community.” He added, “Customers can now leverage our world-class technology in a way that best meets their needs.” In practical terms, a customer could use Cisco silicon in equipment it designed or operated rather than being required to purchase a finished Cisco system.
Why the market looked attractive
DataCenterKnowledge reported an Omdia Data Center Network Equipment Market Tracker forecast on February 14, 2020. The figures were forecasts made at that time, not later measurements of what actually happened.
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| Segment or measure | Omdia forecast reported in 2020 | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Data-plane forwarding chips for data-center Ethernet switches | 1.5 million units in 2023; 1.6% compound annual growth from 2018 | Projected total market expansion |
| Proprietary switch silicon | 9% compound annual decline over the forecast period | Projected contraction of chips tied to a single vendor’s systems |
| Merchant silicon | 4% compound annual growth | Projected growth in chips sold for use by multiple equipment makers or operators |
| Programmable chips | 25% compound annual growth | Projected demand for silicon whose forwarding behavior can be adapted in software |
Omdia identified Broadcom, Intel (following its Barefoot Networks acquisition) and Marvell among the merchant-silicon competitors. The forecast helps explain why Cisco would open part of its technology to the broader equipment ecosystem, but it does not establish that the forecast was Cisco’s sole motivation or that every projection was realized.
The product argument: one architecture instead of many
Cisco’s Silicon One family paper describes a fragmented set of choices that network builders historically had to evaluate: service-provider, web-scale and enterprise designs; routing versus switching; deep versus shallow buffers; programmable versus fixed-function chips; and fixed versus modular systems. Cisco’s proposed answer was a shared architecture and software-development kit (SDK).
What Cisco said common silicon could simplify
- Design and qualification: engineers could learn and validate fewer architectures.
- Software reuse: common SDK semantics and forwarding code could be carried between network roles.
- Operations: fewer silicon-specific behaviors could make deployment and troubleshooting more consistent.
- Lifecycle economics: Cisco said reuse could reduce capital and operating costs and make upgrades easier.
These are Cisco’s stated benefits, not independently measured savings. A common architecture can reduce variation, but the actual result depends on system design, software integration, support requirements and the operator’s existing environment.
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Cisco’s illustrative web-scale topology
In a 2020 Cisco web-scale data-center study, the company modeled a topology containing 110,592 servers, 6,144 top-of-rack switches, 768 leaf nodes, 512 spine nodes and 128 data-center-interconnect boxes. Cisco argued that Silicon One could provide common SDK semantics and P4 forwarding code throughout that topology, whereas other approaches would require three or four different silicon architectures.
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That comparison is vendor-authored and uses an illustrative topology. It should be read as Cisco’s design argument, not as a universal result for every data-center operator.
Why selling chips required more than shipping silicon
Cisco’s target customers were not limited to conventional switch manufacturers. They could include large operators designing their own equipment, system builders assembling disaggregated platforms, and organizations that wanted Cisco-class forwarding technology without a complete Cisco-branded system.
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Cisco said the offer included development tools, expert engineering assistance and support across customer development. That matters because a merchant chip is only one layer of a working switch. Customers still need board designs, thermal and power engineering, boot and diagnostics software, SDK integration, optics interoperability, manufacturing qualification and operational software. Cisco’s support proposition was intended to reduce that integration burden.
Evidence that Cisco pursued external customers
Chopra’s November 9, 2021 Cisco blog reported that Meta had deployed Cisco Silicon One Q200L in the Wedge400C top-of-rack switch. The example demonstrates the external-customer model Cisco described: Meta used Cisco silicon in a switch platform rather than buying a conventional Cisco data-center switch.
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How later Silicon One products fit the original move
The 2019 announcement was the market entry; later products show how Cisco continued to apply the architecture. Current Cisco family material lists the G200, G202, G100, Q200L, Q211L, Q201L and Q202L as preferred options for web-scale data-center switching and describes Silicon One as spanning multiple network roles.
Cisco’s G202 data sheet, updated February 10, 2026, describes a 25.6-Tbps full-duplex switching processor for AI networking and web-scale data-center leaf and top-of-rack applications. This current specification should not be projected backward onto the original 2019 products: it is evidence of the family’s ongoing product direction, not a measure of the initial launch’s performance or commercial return.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Cisco was trying to achieve
Reach customers outside the integrated-system model
Making silicon available separately opened a route to customers that preferred open or disaggregated systems. Cisco could participate in hardware designs without requiring ownership of the entire switch platform.
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Reuse Cisco’s engineering investment
A common architecture, SDK and programmable forwarding model could be offered across routers, switches and different system forms. Cisco’s pitch was that reuse would make its technology easier to adopt and operate at scale.
Compete in growth areas
The Omdia forecast pointed toward merchant and programmable silicon growth while proprietary silicon declined. Entering those segments gave Cisco a way to address the market structure that analysts expected, rather than relying exclusively on complete, vertically integrated systems.
Differentiate with integration support
Broad forwarding capability alone would not distinguish Cisco from established merchant-silicon suppliers. Cisco emphasized that it used the technology in its own products and would provide tools and expert assistance to customers integrating it into their own equipment.
What the available evidence does—and does not—show
| Question | What is established | What remains unestablished |
|---|---|---|
| Did Cisco announce a merchant-silicon strategy? | Yes. Silicon One was announced on December 11, 2019, with an explicit disaggregated-consumption message. | The sources do not independently verify the size of the strategy or its financial contribution. |
| Was there an external customer? | Cisco reported Meta’s Q200L deployment in Wedge400C in 2021. | The report does not show broad adoption or deployment scale. |
| Did the market favor the move? | Omdia’s 2020 forecast predicted decline in proprietary silicon and growth in merchant and programmable segments. | The cited material does not establish whether those forecasts were realized. |
| Did common architecture lower costs? | Cisco claimed reduced complexity, capital cost, operating cost and easier upgrades. | No independent cost study or neutral benchmark is provided. |
| Is Silicon One still used for data-center switching? | Current Cisco material lists multiple Silicon One options, including the G202 for web-scale leaf and top-of-rack use. | Current product listings do not quantify market share or return from the 2019 decision. |
Bottom line on Cisco’s entry
Cisco entered merchant silicon because it saw an opportunity to turn its internal networking architecture into a component business while adapting to demand for disaggregated and programmable data-center infrastructure. Its combined case was strategic access to a growing market, one architecture and SDK across more network roles, and a support package that could make outside integration practical. The public evidence confirms the announcement, Cisco’s stated rationale, a Cisco-reported Meta deployment and continued product development. It does not independently confirm Cisco’s motivations, market-share gains, profitability or causal impact.
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