Kalpana Pioneered the Ethernet Switch | Generated by AI
Question: Who is Kalpana in networking?
Answer:
Kalpana refers to Kalpana, Inc., a pioneering American computer networking equipment company based in Sunnyvale, California, during the early 1990s. It is historically significant for inventing and manufacturing the first commercial multiport Ethernet switch (the seven-port EtherSwitch) in 1990.
This innovation revolutionized Ethernet networks by making them faster, more efficient, and easier to manage compared to hubs, as switches direct traffic only to intended ports rather than broadcasting to all. Kalpana also developed technologies like EtherChannel (now known as link aggregation) for higher bandwidth between switches and early concepts of virtual LANs (VLANs).
The company was co-founded by Vinod Bhardwaj (an entrepreneur of Indian origin) and Larry Blair. They named it Kalpana after Bhardwaj’s wife (the name means “imagination” in Sanskrit). In 1994, Cisco Systems acquired Kalpana, integrating its switching technology and helping Cisco dominate the switch market.
Kalpana (the company) is credited as the inventor of Ethernet switching, which became foundational to modern networking.
References:
- Kalpana, Inc. - Wikipedia
- Cisco to Acquire Kalpana (1994 Announcement)
- Cisco Completes Acquisition of Kalpana (1994)
- The Birth of the Network Switch