Broadcom is now shipping its StrataXGS Trident 4 BCM56880 switch silicon with capacity scaling from 2.0 to 12.8 terabits per second (Tb/s). The new silicon, which boasts the industry’s highest Ethernet switching performance, also brings compiler-programmable packet processing and telemetry capabilities as well as compatibility with earlier generation Trident chips. This enables enterprises to utilize merchant silicon-based systems throughout their networks, from campus access and aggregation to data center top-of-rack and spine.
Trident 4 deliver 4x the bandwidth of Trident 3, which was introduced in June 2017. It also supports >5x the routes, >10x ACLs, and > 1 million counters.
Trident 4 also features runtime programmability, which allows numerous functions to be updated while the switch is in operation, without down time or dropped packets. For example, access control policy tables, size and type of telemetry metadata, packet trace, and packet drop can all be modified with no disturbance to packet flow.
Broadcom holds the dominant market share of the Ethernet switching silicon market.
“Trident 4 is delivering a 4x increase in bandwidth versus its predecessor Trident 3 in less than two years,” said Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager of the Switch Products Division at Broadcom. “Consistent, industry-leading innovation and execution by Broadcom is disrupting the economics of how networks are built today. We are thankful for our engineering team and strong partner ecosystem for helping bring these products and solutions to the market at a price/performance that is a fraction of the current systems.”
Key attributes and benefits of the new StrataXGS Trident 4 series include:
- Up to 128x100GbE or 32x400GbE switching and routing with a
compiler-programmable architecture - Provides the flexibility to implement both standard Ethernet switch/routing and
advanced network functionality such as DDoS protection, application load balancing,
and large-scale NAT - Enterprise-grade feature set with a high degree of feature
concurrency - Industry-leading packet buffer and database sizes
- Extensive programmable in-band telemetry including support for IFA 2.0 (In-band
Flow Analyzer version 2) - Four GHz-class processors on chip enabling powerful out-of-band (streaming)
telemetry and a variety of Broadcom-provided embedded applications - A wide variety of load balancing and congestion management features including
Dynamic Load Balancing, Dynamic Group Multipathing, Resilient Hashing, LatencyBased ECN marking, and Elephant Flow detection and re-prioritization
• Architecture scalability for bandwidth requirements throughout the enterprise
network: SKUs available at 2.0T to 12.8T, all supported with the same NOS and
hardware code base - Broadview Gen 4 integrated network instrumentation feature set and software
suite, providing full visibility to network operators into packet flow behavior, traffic
management state, and switch internal performance - Robust connectivity using up to 256 instances of the industry’s best performing,
longest-reach 50G PAM-4 integrated SerDes core, enabling a wide variety of optical
and direct attached copper (DAC) linksIndustry’s first switch chip implemented all in 7nm process technology
https://www.broadcom.com/products
Broadcom samples first 7nm 400G PAM-4 PHY
Broadcom began sampling its 7nm 400G PAM-4 PHY device for hyperscale data center and cloud infrastructure.
The BCM87400 device, which leverages Broadcom’s 7nm Centenario 112G PAM-4 DSP platform, provides 400G 8:4 gearbox performance.
Broadcom says its 7nm 400G PHY solution delivers significant power savings compared to existing 16nm PHYs, thereby enabling sub-8W optical modules, compared to 12W power dissipation current generations 16nm PHYs.
7nm Centenario PAM-4 DSP Highlights
- Industry leading DSP performance and power efficiency enabling DR4/FR4 optical modules to meet IEEE standards and MSA specifications
- DSP platform supporting DR/FR optical modules for legacy switch applications
- Client-side interface compliance to CEI-28G/56G LR specification supporting long reach (LR) channels
- IEEE 802.3bs standard-compliant KP4 and end-to-end FEC bypass operation
- Proven PAM-4 architecture supporting multiple optics front ends including EML, DML and silicon photonics
- Optimized design with proven interoperability with Broadcom switch ASICs and ASSPs using 28Gbaud PAM-4 and NRZ SerDes architecture
Broadcom confirms mass production of 12.8 Tbps Tomahawk 3 Switch
Broadcom’s StrataXGS Tomahawk 3 switch series is now in mass production.
The Tomahawk 3 series supports high-density, line-rate 400GbE, 200GbE, 100GbE, and 50GbE interconnect for massive scale-out of software-defined cloud data centers. The Tomahawk 3 switch series features multiple devices at 12.8Tbps, 8.0 Tbps, and 6.4 Tbps based on the industry’s most performant 50G PAM4 / 25G NRZ SerDes technology. All devices in the series have completed extensive functional, performance, and reliability testing and have been qualified for volume production.
“We are delighted and humbled by the widespread adoption of Tomahawk 3 based switching solutions in cloud infrastructure,” said Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager, Switch Products at Broadcom. “Our engineering team has executed to the demands of the largest cloud operators globally, including the most rigorous system and network-level qualification requirements – both in our labs and in customer testbeds. Network operators are able to immediately deploy Tomahawk 3 based fabrics, at scale, and with confidence.”
