This post was originally published on Network Computing
DriveNets, best known for bringing cloud-native, software-centric networking to service providers, recently released a series of Ethernet packages to meet the unique needs of AI data centers.
While the technology mania for AI initially centered on silicon, IT leaders are starting to understand that the network plays a critical role in the success of AI. The role of the network is why NVIDIA spent nearly $7 billion to acquire Mellanox in 2019. Since then, the GPU leader’s CEO, Jensen Huang, has continually reiterated that the network is a differentiator.
Traditional Connectivity and AI
The average network, however, doesn’t have the necessary performance to support AI. One option is InfiniBand, which offers great performance for AI but has several negatives. First, InfiniBand is only supported by one vendor, making it a closed technology that creates vendor lock-in. This might be fine for some companies, but most organizations want to have a more open technology that enables long-term choices and a broad ecosystem. Also, while InfiniBand has been around a long time, a limited number of engineers have worked with it, as the technology has historically been used only in niche situations.
In a recent ZK Research study, I asked the question, “Which networking technology do
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