What is the Impact of GenAI on Data Center Infrastructure?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are already revolutionizing industries and tackling global challenges. Now, a new generation of AI is emerging: Generative AI (GenAI), powered by deep neural networks to unlock new capabilities. GenAI is poised to be the accelerator of the digital era, transforming how organizations operate and society functions.
Business leaders are adopting GenAI for a competitive advantage, with publicly available models fueling demand, creating a massive shift in the data center landscape—from the hyperscale to the enterprise. As data centers grapple with implementing sophisticated hardware, data collection, and model training, a key question arises: How can we ensure our infrastructure supports the complex and demanding workloads of GenAI?
The Power of GenAI Demands a Data Center Rethink
GenAI training requires massive parallel processing of data from many sources, with thousands of computations happening simultaneously. Regular CPU-based servers can’t handle this training load. That’s where graphical processing unit (GPU) servers, or nodes, come in.
A large hyperscale GenAI cluster can consist of thousands of interconnected nodes that consume up to 10X more power and interconnect via high-speed, low-latency transmission. Even an enterprise cluster needs multiple GPUs constantly working at full power to train a model—and it will only scale from there as use cases evolve and benefits become measurable.
To support GenAI, data center infrastructure must support:
- Higher bandwidth and lower latency – 100G to 800G speeds and real-time (<20 ms) east-west data transfer between back-end nodes, with front-end switching reaching 800G and 1.6T speeds
- Increased power and cooling – Rack densities reaching 30-100kW per rack, requiring more efficient cooling methods (liquid cooling) to handle higher heat generation
- Advanced protocols – InfiniBand in the back-end for high-bandwidth, low-latency connections between nodes and Ethernet in the front-end for switching, storage, and management
- High-density, high-performance cabling – For inter-node connections, storage, management, and switching
Generative AI Solution Guide
Explore the innovative network infrastructure solutions that will help you easily design, deploy, and scale back-end, front-end, and storage network fabrics for complex high-performance computing AI environments.
Read moreWe Are AI-Ready
Are you a hyperscaler or cloud provider ready to supercharge your services with cutting-edge AI? Or an enterprise pursuing purpose-built models to automate complex tasks and unlock operational savings? Siemon’s advanced data center solutions are the essential foundation for getting your infrastructure ready for the GenAI revolution.
From high-density, end-to-end fiber systems that deliver high-performance, ultra-low loss transmission for any size cluster, to a comprehensive line of high-speed interconnects for point-to-point node connections in enterprise-scale and edge AI deployments, our solutions support InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols to 800G for any configuration in back- and front-end GenAI networks—from servers and switches to storage and management. Siemon goes beyond just infrastructure solutions, offering complete data center services with the expertise to optimize infrastructure design based on your specific GenAI use cases, budget, existing infrastructure, and future needs.
NVIDIA Solution Advisor Consultant
Siemon Announces Optical Patching Solutions for GenAI Networks Using NVIDIA Accelerated Computing.
Advanced Solutions for Your GenAI Infrastructure
High-Density, Ultra Low Loss (ULL) LightVerse® Fiber Optic Cabling System
Verified ULL multimode and singlemode connectivity system with a variety of modules and adapters provide a solid foundation for high-performance 800G and beyond GenAI deployments.
Plug and Play ULL MTP/MPO Fiber Trunks and Assemblies
Multimode and singlemode MTP/MPO trunks, breakout assemblies, and jumpers with a compact design and 2mm diameter RazorCore cable reduce congestion and improve access and airflow in high-density GenAI clusters.
Direct Attach Cables (DACs) and Active Optical Cables (AOCs)
High-speed SFP, QSFP, and OSFP DACs and AOCs offer proven AI-ready InfiniBand and Ethernet performance to 800G, with greater flexibility and a range of configurations for point-to-point, low-latency GPU node connections.
Supporting GenAI Starts with the Right Experience and Support
Siemon has successfully designed and deployed high-speed InfiniBand and Ethernet infrastructure in partnership with global AI and high-performance computing (HPC) leaders. At the same time, we’re an active member within leading associations pioneering AI to shape a responsible future. We’ve focused our data center expertise into a global service network to guide you through the process of selecting and designing the underlying physical infrastructure that ensures your data center is AI-ready while offering you ongoing support to respond quickly to changing needs, prevent downtime and maintain peak performance.
- Siemon’s Data Center Design Services provides detailed analysis of current infrastructure, improvement guidance, and comprehensive design to help you ensure support for GenAI.
- Siemon’s Data Center Partner Ecosystem includes data center partners specializing in complementary GenAI solutions and services that combine our best-in-class infrastructure solutions to harness the true potential of GenAI environments.
- Siemon’s participation in AI’s leading associations and standards development creates a deep understanding of what it takes for data center infrastructure to support current and future GenAI deployments.
Ready to embark on your journey to GenAI?
Partner with Siemon and unlock the full potential of your data center infrastructure to support the unique capabilities of this revolutionary technology.
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