4Tbit/s Ethernet switch doubles bandwidth, cuts power
Broadcom has launched a 4.0 Terabits/second fully programmable Ethernet switch for enterprise data centre ToR (Top of Rack) boxes.
The Trident 4-X7 Ethernet switch ASIC aims to capitalise on Intel leaving the Ethernet switch market with native support for 400G connections making their way from the cloud into enterprise data centres.
Broadcom says the chip cuts power per 100G port by more than half versus the current generation device.
The Trident 4-X7 also offers hardware features for analytics, diagnostics and telemetry that cloud customers can use to automate their data centre operations. These features will greatly improve reliability, while reducing operational costs.
The Trident 4-X7 is fully programmable and can be upgraded in the field to support new data centre requirements. This is imperative for the longer enterprise life cycles that necessitate the highest level of future-proofing for longer platform lifetime and investment protection.
“Broadcom has made huge investments in addressing the needs of our cloud customers,” said Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager, Core Switching Group, Broadcom. “We are also uniquely positioned to bring all of these cloud technologies into enterprise data centres. Enterprise customers can now take advantage of the same capabilities and innovations.”
The enterprise market is entering a new upgrade phase with spine networks migrating to 400G. The 50G PAM4 SerDes core supports the next generation of servers as AI/ML workloads expand into enterprise data centres. The chip also supports Enterprise SONiC and SAI to promote rapid and seamless integration into data centre operations networks.
Trident 4-X7 devices are shipping to qualified customers.
