Prospecting for Performance: Data Center Networking in 2025
Last week, we launched our Data Center Networking for AI and Cloud Workloads resource site covering the state of connectivity in data centers, from die-to-die to GPU-to-GPU, from scale-up to scale out connections, and data center interconnects. Our video gallery features industry thought leaders from Alphawave Semi, Arrcus, Astera Labs, Baya Systems, DriveNets, Juniper, Marvell, Multilane, Nokia, NVIDIA, and the UALink Consortium discussing how AI workloads are impacting interconnectivity in data center.
How has the AI gold rush affected data center infrastructure? InfiniBand or Ethernet? NVLink or UALink? Why care about UCIe? When we will transition from 400ZR/ZR+ to 800ZR/ZR+? We cover these topics and much more in our latest report: Prospecting for Performance: Data Center Networking in 2025.
The report also features interviews with top executives: Shekar Ayyar, CEO of Arrcus, Dudy Cohen, VP of Product Marketing at DriveNets, Nick Kucharewski, SVP and GM of the Network Switching Business Unit at Marvell, Michael Bushong, VP of Data Center at Nokia, and Kevin Deierling, SVP of Networking at NVIDIA . Download the report and get their perspectives now!
Silicon Blueprints and Network Horizons—Data Centers Under Pressure
This report provides a balanced and measured assessment of AI’s influence on data center networking, the advances that are reshaping architectures, the challenges and opportunities that CxOs and IT teams face, and a clear outlook on the evolving vendor landscape. It’s designed to support informed decision-making regarding data center network investments and strategies — especially for mixed workloads with AI and Cloud.
The networking industry has long chased greater speeds, lower latency, and improved efficiency in the data center. But, the recent explosion of generative AI has accelerated these needs, pushing current data center networking to its limits. This report dives into the details of this accelerating pressure from Al workloads, and it aims to highlight how data centers can meet this need by covering:
- The AI tsunami of workloads hitting the data center.
- The tug-of-war between open and proprietary standards (NVLink/UALink, InfiniBand/Ethernet)
- ROCE everywhere + UltraEthernet rising
- Scale Up / Scale Out / Scale Outside architectural implications.
- Emerging roles of DPU and SmartNIC.
- Feasibility of new technologies such as LPO and CPO.
- The push for power efficiency in Al networking designs.
- And much more…
Transforming the Data Center with Next-Generation Networks
Al is not just “coming”; it’s here. Across the data center, AI technologies are forcing a rethink of the way data is moved, managed, and secured. From the die level to the inter-data center level, AI is transforming networking. Innovations in silicon photonics, co-packaged optics, RDMA-enabled Ethernet (RoCE), and intelligent congestion control are all contributing to next-gen Al-optimized networks. As network leaders such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle continue to invest to grow this next-gen infrastructure, it is important to be aware of the most recent technology advances.
Tackling the Triumvirate of Challenges: Performance, Power, Predictability
Despite the opportunities for faster speeds and scale, several challenges threaten the successful implementation of Al in the data center networking environment. The demand for more power, the need to reduce latency and increase performance, the increasingly critical need for predictable traffic patterns – all create hurdles that organizations are trying to address.
Download the AvidThink Data Center Networking in 2025 Report
To access our in-depth analysis and recommendations regarding Data Center Networking in 2025, including insights for enterprises and service providers, download the full report.
This report is a key resource for anyone charged with understanding and navigating the transformative impacts of Al on data center networking and associated technologies. Grab your copy now!
To discuss your organization’s specific needs or to participate in future AvidThink reports, contact us at [email protected].