Ethernet

NVIDIA Spectrum-X is the platform that proved Ethernet can compete with InfiniBand for AI training workloads — and it’s winning. By tightly coupling Spectrum-4 switch ASICs with BlueField-3 SuperNICs, Spectrum-X achieves 1.6x better AI workload performance than off-the-shelf Ethernet while maintaining the cost, ecosystem, and operational advantages that made Ethernet the standard for everything else in the data center. Key Takeaway: Spectrum-X is not faster Ethernet — it’s a fundamentally different architecture that ports three InfiniBand innovations (lossless transport, adaptive routing, in-network telemetry) to Ethernet, and network engineers who understand these mechanisms will design the AI fabrics of the next decade. ...

Meta is spending up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 — the largest single-company technology investment in history — and the networking layer that ties it all together runs on Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet, not InfiniBand. This multiyear partnership covers millions of Nvidia Blackwell and next-generation Rubin GPUs, and the deliberate choice of Ethernet over InfiniBand sends a clear signal: the future of AI-scale networking is open, Ethernet-based, and built on the same fabric principles that CCIE-level engineers have been mastering for years. ...