Broadcom has introduced a groundbreaking advancement in the networking chips. Today, the tech giant revealed the launch of its novel on-chip neural-network inference engine named NetGNT (Networking General-purpose Neural-network Traffic-analyzer) integrated into the highly anticipated Trident 5-X12 chip.
NetGNT represents a shift in chip capabilities, operating in tandem with the conventional packet-processing pipeline. Unlike the standard pipeline’s one-packet/one-path approach, NetGNT harnesses the power of machine learning to detect diverse traffic patterns spanning the entirety of the chip.
Key Benefits of Trident 5-X12:
25% less power consumption per 400G port compared to current market leaders
Introduction of 800G ports utilizing Broadcom’s 100G-PAM4 SerDes technology for enhanced connectivity options
Facilitating the transition to next-gen CPU & GPU servers using 400G NICs
Integration of NetGNT for heightened network efficiency and performance
Enhanced telemetry capabilities for deeper real-time insights, contributing to NetGNT’s training
Increased forwarding/policy scales supporting expanding network sizes
Legacy API compatibility with current Broadcom switch chips
Full programmability through NPL (Network Programming Language) for in-field upgrades and feature additions
This innovative engine is designed to identify intricate traffic patterns, such as the common “incast” occurrence in AI/ML workloads. Incast involves numerous packet flows converging on a single port and buffer simultaneously, resulting in congestion. NetGNT swiftly recognizes this pattern in real-time, deploying congestion-control techniques to prevent network performance degradation. Moreover, NetGNT’s hardware-based execution operates at full line rate, ensuring no compromise in throughput or latency.
Ram Velaga, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Core Switching Group at Broadcom, highlighted the company’s commitment to pushing technological boundaries: “We continue to push the envelope and introduce brand-new technologies such as NetGNT to the market. We also listen very closely to our customers who have made it clear that one size does not fit all.”
The Trident 5-X12 chip boasts exceptional features, offering 16.0 Terabits/second of bandwidth—twice the capacity of the leading Trident 4-X9. Its support for 800G ports enables seamless integration with Broadcom’s cutting-edge Tomahawk 5, used as the spine/fabric in the latest compute and AI/ML data centers. This chip is set to revolutionize data centers, enabling a 1RU data center ToR with 48x200G downlink ports and 8x800G uplink ports.
The Trident 5-X12 aligns with Broadcom’s commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions. With its availability for qualified customers, this advancement ushers in a new era of networking capabilities. For more information on the Broadcom Trident 5-X12 Ethernet switch, visit Broadcom’s website.
