At SC24, Broadcom Inc. unveiled a number of breakthroughs to address the exploding demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). As the need for performance, scalability and efficiency in modern infrastructure grows, Broadcom’s energy-efficient chips and networking solutions are helping to shape the future of AI networking.
Key Features: Energy Efficiency and Scalability
Broadcom is leading the way in energy efficiency without sacrificing performance. The Tomahawk 5 chip and Thor 2 NIC are key to cutting power consumption and cooling by up to 75% as AI workloads grow exponentially. That’s cost effective and sustainable for AI driven data centers.
Hasan Siraj, head of software products and ecosystem at Broadcom, explained how Ethernet based networking provides a standardized and scalable way to manage AI infrastructure. As Siraj said, to build an AI network you need a front end, backend, storage and outband management, all connected via Ethernet which is critical for troubleshooting and system management.
Networking is the Backbone of Scalable AI Systems
One of the key topics covered during theCUBE’s live broadcast at SC24 was the growing importance of networking in large scale AI deployments. Networking is the glue in AI systems, connecting all the parts of a cluster and ensuring data flow, which is critical for handling the massive bandwidth and low latency of AI workloads. Broadcom’s focus on Ethernet based systems means AI infrastructure can be built with high reliability and scalability to support clusters with millions of nodes.
With clustered architectures as Siraj said, businesses can deploy AI models that can’t be managed on traditional server based systems. As the AI landscape grows, there is a need for robust networking to get data moving across systems, avoiding congestion and downtime. Broadcom’s solutions are designed to meet that challenge, with future proof features that can grow with the growing needs of AI.
Partnerships
In addition to networking and power efficiency, partnerships are key to Broadcom’s strategy. Collaborations with key partners like Dell Technologies and Denver Dataworks are building integrated, open systems that combine networking, storage and compute into a single, scalable solution. These partnerships are critical to building AI ecosystems that can adapt to the growing complexity of machine learning and other high performance computing workloads. Hemal Shah, Distinguished Engineer at Broadcom, talked about the importance of software integration and diagnostic monitoring tools to simplify deployment and management of AI networking fabrics. This will make it easier to integrate high bandwidth systems and make life easier for businesses adopting AI.
