Enterprises have traditionally operated in a closed ecosystem, burdened with high network hardware and software costs and high power usage due to complex multi-chip switch ASIC solutions. In contrast, operators of many large data centers work in an open ecosystem using switch merchant silicon solutions to lower system cost and power consumption. With the introduction of Trident 4,
A key feature of Trident 4 that enables these benefits is the ability to scale from 2.0 to 12.8 Tb/s on monolithic 7nm, fully programmable silicon implementations with full enterprise-class functionality. No switch silicon has previously provided this combination of bandwidth levels, flexibility, and robust concurrent functionality. The high bandwidth of 12.8 Tb/s allows collapsing of multi-chip systems into a single chip, greatly reducing cost, power, and the complexity of system software while also improving system reliability. The groundbreaking, compiler-programmable architecture provides flexibility in both packet forwarding and telemetry, future-proofing networks, providing superior visibility, and accelerating innovation. Unique to Trident 4, this programmability is provided while maintaining a high degree of feature concurrency. This allows the same architecture with the same network operating system (NOS) and hardware programming to be used throughout the network, dramatically improving operational consistency.
Systems utilizing Trident 4 will have a rapid path to market since the device is pin-compatible with Tomahawk® 3. This enables the reuse of existing high-volume hardware systems. Further, Trident 4 offers easy software migration from previous Tomahawk and Trident systems by providing the option for two sets of software interfaces: the widely-deployed SDK6 APIs and also the logical table-based APIs offered with SDKLT.
In addition, Trident 4 offers a new unique benefit for enterprise networks: runtime programmability. While compile-time programmability allows high-level protocols, forwarding behavior, and telemetry frameworks to be defined when the system is first booted, runtime programmability allows numerous functions to be updated while the switch is in operation, with no down time, and no 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. The result is a dramatic reduction in operational complexity, higher network flexibility, and higher network availability.
Trident 4 Highlights
- Single scalable switch architecture from 12.8 Tb/s to 2 Tb/s
- Comprehensive, concurrent feature set
- Compiler-programmable packet processing
- Flexibility to implement advanced network functionality such as DDoS protection, application load balancing, and large-scale NAT
- Advanced instrumentation including programmable in-band and streaming telemetry
- Industry-leading packet buffer and database sizes
- 7nm monolithic implementation
“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
Availability
Further information on the BCM56880 and related software can be found online at:
https://www.broadcom.com/products/ethernet-connectivity/switching/strataxgs/bcm56880-series
NPL Programmability
Trident 4 is programmed using the NPL high-level language. For more information on NPL, please visit http://nplang.org/.
Industry Quotes
“AT&T is committed to white box solutions that disaggregate hardware and software, and take advantage of merchant silicon packet processing technology. These white box platforms efficiently meet the growing network requirements of our diverse enterprise customers. Trident 4’s rich, concurrent functionality aligns with our vision of delivering efficient enterprise and cloud capabilities through an open ecosystem, which enables AT&T’s engineering team to build a highly-resilient and flexible global network.”
“Baidu has deployed several generations of the Trident product family. With each generation of new silicon,
“Broadcom’s latest addition to the Trident family, Trident 4, is a perfect fit for our current infrastructure that is already utilizing the Trident product family. Trident 4 offers an impressive combination of scale, programmability, and telemetry features. The rich feature-set, along with the flexible architecture, enables
“At LinkedIn, we have successfully deployed several generations of Broadcom’s cutting-edge Ethernet switching technology. Trident 4’s capacity, programmability, and flexible architecture will enable a broad high touch, deeper buffers, and lookup capabilities ecosystem. This broader ecosystem will offer more choices for LinkedIn, as we continue to build-out our next generation of infrastructure with 12.8T switches as a baseline building block.”
“Trident 4 is the perfect solution for applications such as load balancing, security, and NAT.
"The Arista 7050X and 7300X Series running EOS® provide a broad range of solutions for Enterprises and virtualized datacenter environments, powered by multiple generations of the Broadcom Trident architecture. Trident 4 delivers runtime programmability for comprehensive telemetry packaged in a range of performance options from 2.0T to 12.8T that provide compelling options for networks of all sizes to reap the benefits of merchant-silicon based solutions from the wiring closet to the campus core and beyond, with reduced complexity compared to legacy solutions.”
“Dell EMC has brought its best-in-class Open Networking solutions to the market working together with
“We are excited to offer Broadcom’s Trident 4 in Juniper Networks’ switching product line to provide higher-density and higher-performance systems for data center and campus networks. We look forward to enabling the new Trident 4 compiler-programmable packet processing and programmable instrumentation with industry-leading Junos OS to deliver flexible, yet simple-to-operate solutions at scale, for our service provider and enterprise customers.”
Liu Zhongdong, President and CEO,
“Ruijie is dedicated to providing a broad portfolio of advanced networking equipment to our Enterprise customers. Broadcom’s Trident 4, being the first 7nm switch silicon and having tremendous flexibility in packet processing and instrumentation, will help Ruijie continue its leadership position. The fact that Trident 4 can support a large set of Enterprise features concurrently with large, fungible databases means that Ruijie can provide customers with switches and routers that can be used throughout their networks.”
“The large databases and feature concurrency offered by Trident 4 are an ideal fit for ArcOS®, our industry-leading, microservices-based networking software solution powering next-gen infrastructure. ArcOS has been future-proofed with many architectural advancements to take advantage of the 4x bandwidth scalability and compiler-programmable pipeline in Trident 4 to enhance our customers’ overall experience across a wide-range of networking deployments.”
“Trident 4’s comprehensive and concurrent feature set and bandwidth scalability continue to extend Cumulus’ reach into the enterprise market segment. The advanced programmable streaming and in-band telemetry features will enable us to provide our customers with more advanced automation and instrumentation tools that are integrated into NetQ, our highly scalable modern network operations toolset. We’ve worked closely with
"Alpha is thrilled to work closely with
CC Lee, President,
"We are excited to see the industry’s first 7nm Ethernet switch silicon. Trident 4’s pin-compatibility with Tomahawk 3 will allow
"
"As Broadcom’s premier networking ODM provider, Delta is focused on delivering on the numerous benefits of the new Trident4 family of switches. The new Trident4 architecture enables Delta to build a healthy, vibrant ecosystem of programmable whitebox platforms spanning from single digit multi-Terabit solutions up to 12.8T to the market. It is a privilege for Delta to continue our close partnership with
"
"Quanta is very pleased to add Trident 4 to our existing ethernet switch product portfolio. Trident 4’s programmability, concurrent feature set, and flexible architecture enables Quanta to provide a diverse selection of platforms for enterprise data customers and campus customers.”
About Broadcom
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Source: Broadcom Inc.