FS Unveils Cutting-Edge 400G and 800G Ethernet Switches for AI Clusters

New Castle, DE, 25 September 2024 — FS has announced the release of its latest range of high-performance Ethernet switches, specifically designed to meet the increasing demands of large AI clusters. The new 400G and 800G Ethernet switches, powered by the Broadcom Tomahawk 5 chipset, offer up to 51.2 terabits per second (Tbps) of switching capacity, and support full-duplex operations at 102.4 Tbps.

This announcement comes in response to growing bandwidth and data transmission needs driven by the surge in generative AI and advanced machine learning (ML) applications. The highly awaited switches aim to deliver efficient data handling with minimal latency, making them suitable for environments requiring heavy data processing, such as big data analytics, high-performance computing (HPC), and distributed storage networks.

Technological Advancements

The 400G switch model boasts 128 400G QSFP112 ports, capable of supporting up to 8,000 400G ports in layer 2 networking configurations, with potential scalability to 32,000 400G ports in layer 3 setups. Meanwhile, the 800G variant offers 64 OSFP ports, which are versatile enough to handle 2x 400GbE, 4x 200GbE, or 8x 100GbE via breakout cables.

Main features include:

  • Broadcom's Tomahawk 5 Chipset: Capable of achieving a switching capacity of 51.2 Tbps (102.4 Tbps full-duplex).
  • Lossless RoCEv2 Support: Ensuring low-latency, zero-packet-loss transmission.
  • High Density Ports: Options ranging from 100GbE to 800GbE in a compact 4 Rack Units (RU) design.
  • Advanced Load Balancing: Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB) and Global Load Balancer (GLB) technologies to optimise bandwidth usage and reduce AI training duration.
  • Adaptive Routing: To minimise congestion, routes are selected based on real-time conditions, ensuring optimal data flow.
  • Reliability: Features include 2+2 hot-swappable power supplies and 7+1 smart fans for better system dependability.

CEO Remarks

Commenting on the launch, Daniel Xiang, CEO of FS, said, "With the launch of our 400G and 800G AI switches, enterprises can leverage greater network capacity and efficiency for their AI clusters. Based on Broadcom’s TH5 chips, these switches deliver the high bandwidth and throughput needed for AI workloads. We are thrilled to introduce these switches to the market and look forward to empowering our customers as they expand their AI data centres.”

Technical Specifications Overview

  • Switch Chip: Both the 400G and 800G models are equipped with the BCM78900 Tomahawk 5 chipset.
  • Switching Capacity: Each switch offers a full-duplex capacity of 102.4 Tbps.
  • Forwarding Rate: The 400G switch can process 21,000 million packets per second (Mpps), while the 800G model handles 20,695 Mpps.
  • Packet Buffer: Both models come with a 165.2MB packet buffer.
  • Latency: The 400G switch has a latency of 0.88 microseconds (μs), and the 800G switch operates under 1 microsecond.
  • Redundancy and Reliability: Both models include 8 hot-swappable fans (7+1 redundancy) and are designed with a front-to-back airflow configuration.

For more in-depth information, further details can be found on FS’s official website.

Source: Noah Wire Services