How Ethernet Will Win in the AI Networking Battle

How Ethernet Will Win in the AI Networking Battle

The AI Boom Meets Network Demands

With artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforming industries—from healthcare and finance to autonomous vehicles and robotics—the need for ultra-fast, scalable, and efficient data networking has never been greater. The rise of large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and real-time data analytics is pushing traditional network infrastructures to their limits.

 

 

 

 

 

In this high-stakes game of speed, latency, and scalability—Ethernet is emerging as the undisputed champion.

What Is the AI Networking Battle?

AI workloads are uniquely data-intensive. Training large models like ChatGPT, GPT-4, or Google Gemini requires vast amounts of data to move rapidly between GPUs, CPUs, storage, and data centers. This has triggered a networking arms race.

Several technologies are competing for dominance in this space:

• InfiniBand: Popular in high-performance computing (HPC) due to its low-latency and high-throughput design.

• Proprietary Interconnects: Like NVIDIA’s NVLink or Google's TPU mesh network.

• Ethernet: The tried-and-tested backbone of enterprise networking.

  
  
  
  
  
  
   

The battle is to determine which technology can deliver the best performance, scalability, cost-efficiency, and flexibility to support the future of AI.

Why Ethernet Is Poised to Win

1. Massive Ecosystem and Vendor Neutrality

Ethernet is open, standardized, and supported by a broad range of vendors including Arista Networks, Cisco, Broadcom, Marvell, and others. Unlike InfiniBand, which is largely dominated by NVIDIA through its Mellanox acquisition, Ethernet’s openness allows innovation and cost competition.

According to Arista CEO Jayshree Ullal, the company is betting heavily on Ethernet for AI networks because it offers vendor neutrality and long-term scalability. This openness reduces vendor lock-in, which is a key concern for enterprises.

"AI is the new cloud. And the new cloud is built on Ethernet," says Ullal in her recent Investor’s Business Daily interview.

2. Scalability to 800G and Beyond

Ethernet standards are evolving quickly. We are already seeing:

• 400G Ethernet deployments

• 800G and 1.6T Ethernet on the horizon

   

  
  
  
  

These advances enable horizontal scaling of GPU clusters, AI supercomputers, and training data centers without the complexity of proprietary fabrics.

Ethernet is also benefitting from Silicon Photonics and PAM4 modulation, making high-bandwidth networking more power-efficient and cost-effective.

3. Better Economics

Ethernet is cheaper—both in terms of equipment cost and operational expense. InfiniBand switches and interconnects are expensive, both to purchase and to manage. Ethernet, by contrast, leverages commodity hardware and widespread talent in the workforce.

• InfiniBand: Great for tightly-coupled HPC systems.

• Ethernet: Ideal for large-scale, distributed AI/ML environments.

  
  
   

As AI workloads become more cloud-native and span multiple data centers, Ethernet’s simplicity and cost-efficiency become massive advantages.

4. AI Workload Optimization with Ethernet Fabric

Next-gen Ethernet switches and software now support RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), load balancing, congestion control, and smart telemetry, allowing Ethernet to match or exceed InfiniBand’s performance in many scenarios.

With vendors like Arista, Cisco, and Broadcom collaborating on high-performance AI Ethernet fabrics, the performance gap has nearly closed—while the flexibility remains unmatched.

The Vision: Ethernet as the AI Backbone

Unified Fabric for All Workloads

Future data centers will not separate AI from other workloads. Ethernet provides a unified fabric for storage, compute, video, AI, and real-time analytics—simplifying management and reducing overhead.

Cloud-Scale AI Over Ethernet

AI workloads are growing beyond single clusters and single sites. They are spanning multiple clouds, hybrid environments, and edge locations.

Ethernet is inherently designed for:

• Multi-tenant isolation

• Secure segmentation

• Interoperability across clouds

  
  
   

This makes it ideal for cloud-scale AI architectures where flexibility is key.

What the Industry Leaders Are Saying

"We're building Ethernet-based AI clusters for multiple hyperscalers," says Jayshree Ullal of Arista.
"The flexibility, economics, and power efficiency of Ethernet are hard to beat."

Companies like Microsoft Azure, Meta, Google Cloud, and even parts of AWS are all experimenting or moving to Ethernet for AI networking needs.

This is a turning point. Proprietary fabrics may still dominate niche HPC spaces, but AI at enterprise and hyperscale levels is shifting to Ethernet.

Conclusion: Ethernet Is the Future of AI Networking

The AI revolution is reshaping infrastructure as we know it. In this fast-evolving landscape, Ethernet is not just keeping up—it’s taking the lead by offering:

• Open standards and vendor neutrality

• Scalable bandwidth up to 1.6 Tbps

• Reduced costs and greater flexibility

• Enterprise-wide and cloud-native compatibility

  
  
   

With industry giants like Arista, Cisco, Broadcom, and the cloud titans all backing Ethernet, the writing is on the wall.

Ethernet will win the AI networking battle— not by brute force, but by being smarter, more open, and infinitely more adaptable.

 

 

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Navigating Job Search as a Fresher in a Tough Recession Market

 

In today's challenging economic climate, fresh graduates face significant hurdles in securing employment. This document explores strategies and tips for navigating the job market during a recession, providing insights that can help new entrants stand out and enhance their chances of landing a job.

 

 

Understanding the Job Market

The current recession has led to increased competition for limited job openings. Many companies are tightening their budgets, resulting in fewer entry-level positions. Understanding the dynamics of the job market is crucial for freshers. Researching industries that are still hiring, such as healthcare, technology, and essential services, can provide valuable insights into potential job opportunities.

 

 

Building a Strong Resume

A well-crafted resume is essential for making a positive first impression. Freshers should focus on highlighting their education, relevant internships, volunteer work, and any skills that align with the job they are applying for. Tailoring the resume for each application can significantly increase the chances of getting noticed by recruiters.

 

 

Networking

Networking plays a vital role in job searching, especially during a recession. Freshers should leverage platforms like LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals, alumni, and potential employers. Attending virtual job fairs, webinars, and industry events can also provide opportunities to meet people who can offer guidance or job leads.

 

 

Up-skilling

In a competitive job market, having additional skills can set a fresher apart from other candidates. Online courses, certifications, and workshops can help enhance skills relevant to the desired job. Focusing on in-demand skills, such as digital marketing, data analysis, or coding, can make a fresher more appealing to employers.

 

 

Preparing for Interviews

Preparation is key when it comes to interviews. Freshers should practice common interview questions and develop a clear understanding of the companies they are applying to. Demonstrating knowledge about the company and articulating how their skills align with the job can leave a lasting impression on interviewers.

 

Staying Positive and Persistent

Job searching during a recession can be disheartening, but maintaining a positive attitude is essential. Freshers should set realistic goals, celebrate small achievements, and remain persistent in their efforts. Seeking support from friends, family, or career counselors can also provide encouragement and motivation.

 

Conclusion

While the job market during a recession presents unique challenges for freshers, employing strategic approaches can enhance their chances of success. By understanding the market, building a strong resume, networking, upskilling, preparing for interviews, and maintaining a positive mindset, fresh graduates can navigate this tough landscape and find rewarding employment opportunities.

 

 

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How a Firewall Configuration Update Led to a Major Application Outage

 

How a Firewall Configuration Update Led to a Major Application Outage – A Lesson for Engineers

 

Network security engineers often rely on firewall management systems to enforce security policies. But what happens when a misalignment in configurations between the firewall and the management system leads to unexpected service disruptions?

In this post, we’ll walk through a real-world Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of an application outage caused by a firewall update gone wrong. This incident underscores the importance of synchronization, proper change control, and validation before pushing configurations.

Incident Summary: What Went Wrong?

A critical developer application failed to start due to network connectivity issues. Upon investigation, it was discovered that a firewall policy change inadvertently removed necessary access rules, causing the application to lose connectivity.

This wasn’t an intentional change, but rather an unexpected consequence of a bulk rule update pushed from the firewall management system to the firewall itself.

Understanding Firewall Management Databases

Most enterprise firewall management solutions consist of two main databases:

• Device Database (Device-DB): Maintains the latest configurations retrieved from firewalls. It gets automatically updated when changes occur on the firewall.
• Policy Database (Policy-DB): Stores policies centrally in the firewall management system. Any push from the management system replaces the firewall’s existing rules with what is stored in this database.

This distinction is crucial because a mismatch between these databases can result in unintended policy deletions.

Detailed Analysis: How Did This Happen?

Policy Creation

A few months before the incident, security policies were created directly on the firewall, rather than being added through the firewall management system.

Device Database Update

Since the firewall's Device-DB was auto-updated, it reflected the newly created policies, even though they were never added to the Policy-DB in the management system.

Backup Verification

To verify whether the policies existed before the configuration push, the backup files from the firewall manager were analyzed. The latest backup revealed that these specific policies were missing from the Policy-DB, indicating that they were never committed to the management system.

Configuration Push & The Disaster

When a network engineer executed a scheduled configuration push, the firewall’s rules were overwritten with what was in the Policy-DB. Since the missing policies were never stored in the Policy-DB, the push erased them from the firewall—leading to the application outage.

This resulted in denied connections for the developer application, causing widespread disruptions for the team.

Lessons Learned: How to Prevent Such Incidents

Always synchronize policies between firewalls and management systems

• Ensure that locally created firewall policies are also committed to the Policy-DB before pushing updates.

Perform pre-deployment checks before pushing configurations

• Always compare the current running firewall configuration with the firewall management system database before pushing any updates.

Regularly back up firewall configurations and maintain audit logs

• Backups are essential for troubleshooting and quick recovery in case of an accidental policy removal.

Implement a structured change control process

• Any changes to security rules should be approved, tested, and validated before they are deployed in production.

Final Resolution: How the Issue Was Fixed

To restore the network connectivity, engineers followed these steps:

• Reviewed Firewall Revision History to identify the missing rules.
• Manually re-added the removed rules into the firewall manager.
• Pushed a corrected configuration update to ensure synchronization.
• Validated network connectivity to confirm the application was fully restored.

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Conclusion

This case study serves as a reminder that even minor misconfigurations in firewall policies can cause major disruptions. By ensuring synchronization between firewall and management databases, validating configurations before pushing updates, and maintaining backups, engineers can prevent outages and maintain a secure, stable network.

Have you encountered a similar issue? Share your experience in the comments!

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Cybersecurity Lessons from Squid Game

A Deadly Parallel Between Squid Game and Cybersecurity

Netflix's Squid Game took the world by storm with its brutal portrayal of survival games, but beyond the intense drama lies an unexpected parallel to the world of cybersecurity. Just like the games in Squid Game, cybersecurity attacks exploit weaknesses, test resilience, and eliminate the unprepared. In this blog, we will map each of the six iconic Squid Games to a real-world cybersecurity attack with the most accurate comparisons.

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Red Light, Green Light – Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)

In the first game, players must stop immediately when the robot says "Red Light." The robot represents an Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDPS), monitoring network traffic and halting any suspicious activity. Players who fail to comply are "eliminated," just like malicious activities are blocked.

Lesson: Implement robust IDPS tools to monitor and respond to suspicious activities in real-time.

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Dalgona Candy – Social Engineering Attacks

The Dalgona Candy challenge tests patience, precision, and composure under pressure. Similarly, Social Engineering Attacks manipulate human behavior to extract sensitive information. The attacker creates pressure and urgency, making victims more likely to fall for scams.

Lesson: Educate employees about social engineering tactics and ensure verification processes for sensitive actions.

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Tug of War – Brute Force Attacks

Tug of War relies on strength, persistence, and teamwork to overpower the opponent. Similarly, a Brute Force Attack uses repeated attempts to guess passwords or encryption keys until successful.

Lesson: Use complex passwords, enable account lockouts, and implement multi-factor authentication.

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Marbles – Insider Threats

The Marbles game reveals themes of trust and betrayal, where players are betrayed by those they trust most. This mirrors Insider Threats, where an internal team member may intentionally or unintentionally leak sensitive information.

Lesson: Implement strict access controls, monitor internal activity, and establish whistleblower policies.

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Glass Stepping Stones – Zero-Day Exploits

In the Glass Stepping Stones game, players must step onto glass panels without knowing which one will shatter. Similarly, Zero-Day Exploits target vulnerabilities unknown to the software vendor, making them highly unpredictable and dangerous.

Lesson: Conduct frequent vulnerability assessments, apply software patches, and use advanced threat detection tools.

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Squid Game Finale – Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

The final Squid Game tests endurance, patience, and strategy over a prolonged period—mirroring Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). These attacks involve sophisticated attackers who maintain long-term access to systems without being detected.

Lesson: Employ continuous monitoring, threat intelligence tools, and cybersecurity frameworks to detect and prevent prolonged attacks.

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Conclusion: Lessons from Survival to Cybersecurity Resilience

Each Squid Game mirrors a cybersecurity attack that tests the preparedness and resilience of organizations. By understanding these parallels, businesses can fortify their defenses, educate their teams, and stay vigilant.

Which Squid Game moment do you think best represents a cybersecurity challenge?

Share your thoughts below!

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