A Light on Cloud Infrastructure: How Marvell is Scaling AI with New Optical DSP

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, we address the topic of cloud optics innovation and why it is critical to fulfilling the emerging demands in next generation AI/ML systems. Marvell's new Nova offering, a 1.6T PAM4 DSP optimized for high-performance fabrics in AI/ML environments, focuses on delivering breakthroughs in optical connectivity by enabling the highest speed of data movement in cloud AI/ML and data center networks. Powered by a groundbreaking 200 Gbps/lambda optical DSP, Nova doubles the optical bandwidth of current solutions to enable 1.6 Tbps pluggable modules for scaling AI clusters. Nova extends the multi-source pluggable optics ecosystem and provides the advanced technology needed to alleviate data center network bottlenecks as the industry transitions to 51.2 Tbps networking architectures.

 

Host Ron Westfall welcomes Nigel Alvares, VP of Global Marketing and Business Planning at Marvell Technologies, a top-tier semiconductor company. Nigel is a returning guest on this show, and astutely shares his insights and perspective on the direction of the cloud optics market segment and its vital role across AI/ML and data center environments.

 

To start their discussion, they focused on the Nova PAM4 DSP product and how the PAM4 DSPs sit inside of an optical module that plugs into the back of a switch. Nigel demonstrated how one works and deftly explained they essentially transfer data from the switch to optical modules so that data can be moved anywhere in the world.   

 

Today, Marvell's Nova product is ready to meet the bandwidth boom clouds are facing as data traffic is forecasted to grow at over 40% per year. Notably, it's growing even faster inside the data center, where PAM4s are mostly used. Some estimate that East-West traffic between racks in data centers is now 70% of traffic. As a result, clouds are investing heavily in switched and optical interconnects powered by DSPs such as Nova.

 

Their conversation drilled down on the following key topics:

• What kind of impact will the Marvell Nova solution have on AI, especially in handling and scaling the required cloud workloads.
• Why Nova is the first chip with 200G per lambda or wavelength and how Marvell accomplished this breakthrough.
• The benefits Nova can deliver such as the doubling of data capacity, getting the same amount of bandwidth with half the equipment, and saving valuable real estate in data centers.
• We examined the latest developments in co-packaged silicon and direct drive designs including their pros and cons. Using linear direct (LD) or co-packaged optics (CPO) approaches comes down to customer preferences, although it can be two more years before they become mainstream.
• An assessment of active electrical cable (AEC) technology and how they can help enable server to server bandwidth can start to double every few years akin to rack interconnects as well as optical arriving inside servers due to PAM4 commodifying optical bandwidth.
• Why modules have a long life ahead of them, especially throughout AI clusters, and how Marvell's 3nm innovations play a key role.