With data transfer and secure networking concerns only heading higher, the hardware and infrastructure of network adapters are being challenged to stay on top of their game.

During VMworld 2015, Shaun Walsh, VP of Corporate Marketing and GM Ethernet at QLogic Corp., spoke with Stu Miniman and Brian Gracely, cohosts of theCUBE, about a number of those current challenges, as well as looking ahead to future endeavors.

New chip technology

Speaking on the topic of projected good futures for QLogic, Walsh identified what he considers the “holy trifecta” of opportunity for its new chip technology in the transition to 25-gigabyte standards.

“You’ve got a market transition, you actually have a chip ready for the market at the right time, and the #1 incumbent, which is Intel, doesn’t have a product,” he said.

Competition, escalation, fiber channel and forward

Walsh readily identified Mellanox Technologies as the company that would be giving QLogic the strongest fight in the market, referring to an “absolute knife-fight” between the two corporations for the position of #1.

While acknowledging the current maturity of fiber channel, Walsh felt that it would continue to have relevance, as well as stable financial returns, as the company moved ahead with the raising of hardware data-caps.

“Whether people like to admit it or not, good old rack’n’stack is going to be around for a very long time,” he said.

Latency, multi-threading and an increased use of open-source were among the points of focus for QLogic’s future plans, though some unexpected company mergers on the playing field were acknowledged as having provided some surprises.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of VMworld 2015.

Photo by SiliconANGLE