- Aimed at data centers shuffling huge amounts of traffic, Broadcom's (BRCM) new StrataXGS Tomahawk chip delivers 3.2Tbps of Ethernet switching capacity - 32 100G ports, 64 40G/50G ports, or 128 25G ports. Dell, Juniper, Brocade, and Huawei are among the switch OEMs that furnished quotes for the PR.
-
SDNCentral observes the Tomahawk isn't meant to replace Broadcom's flagship Trident II switching chip (can handle 100+ 10G ports), but instead aims for "an even higher-end market of hyperscale data centers and anything else requiring the highest port counts and lowest latency available."
- The chip also supports network visibility/analytics features that could make it well-suited for a budding software-defined networking (SDN) market. SDN is widely viewed as an opportunity for Broadcom, given deployments often rely on switches running off-the-shelf silicon rather than proprietary ASICs.
- Last week, Cavium's (CAVM) newly-acquired Xpliant unit showed off a 3.2Tbps switching chip that supports a very high level of programmability (helpful for SDN). Broadcom's chip has begun sampling (mass-production could take some time), while Cavium's is expected to sample in Q4.