Ethernet adapter chips aim to bolster AI data center networking

At a time when scalable high-bandwidth and low-latency connectivity is becoming critical for artificial intelligence (AI) clusters, the new 400G PCIe Gen 5.0 Ethernet adapter chips aim to resolve connectivity bottlenecks in AI data centers.

Broadcom claims its 400G PCIe Gen 5.0 chips are the first Ethernet adapters built with 5-nm process technology. “We recognize the significance of fostering a power-efficient and highly connected data center for AI ecosystem,” said Jas Tremblay, VP and GM of the Data Center Solutions Group at Broadcom.

The 400G PCIe Gen 5.0 Ethernet adapters deliver higher rack density by driving passive copper cables up to five meters. Moreover, these Ethernet adapters employ low-latency congestion control technology and innovative telemetry features while equipped with a third-generation RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) pipeline.

These Ethernet adapters are built on Broadcom’s sixth-generation hardened network interface card (NIC) architecture. Their software is designed to be vendor agnostic; it supports a broad ecosystem of CPUs, GPUs, PCIe and Ethernet switches using open PCIe and Ethernet standards.

Ethernet adapter chips must resolve connectivity bottlenecks as cluster sizes grow rapidly in AI data centers. Source: Broadcom

According to Patrick Moorhead, chief analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, as the industry races to deliver generative AI at scale, the immense volumes of data that must be processed to train large language models (LLMs) require even larger server clusters. He added that Ethernet presents a compelling case as the networking technology of choice for next-generation AI workloads.

AI-centric applications are reshaping the data center networking landscape, and Broadcom’s new 400G PCIe Gen 5.0 Ethernet adapters highlight the crucial importance of devices operating in the high-bandwidth, high-stress network environment that characterizes AI infrastructure.

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