Ethernet vs InfiniBand in AI Clusters

Thank you to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to the Cisco AI Lab in San Jose. In this deep dive into the future of data center networking, we sit down to explore the massive shifts happening in AI infrastructure. We discuss the rollout of new 100 terabit smart switches and firewalls powered by the Cisco Silicon One G300 chip, alongside the highly anticipated NVIDIA Spectrum 6. Discover the critical debate between Ethernet and InfiniBand for scaling AI clusters, the complexities of co-packaged optics (CPO) versus linear packaged optics (LPO), and how agentic AI and tools like Claude are revolutionizing legacy C code refactoring. From managing data center power constraints to enforcing security policies directly on DPUs, this conversation covers the hardware and software transformations you need to know to stay ahead in network engineering. // Will Eatherton SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / willeatherton Newsroom: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsro... // YouTube video REFERENCE // • The 100Tbps AI Switch: Inside the Beast • Did Ethernet Just Win? Cisco’s 100Tbps AI ... // David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - Coming Up 0:42 - Introduction 01:05 - Recap of Announcements from Cisco Live 03:19 - 1.6 Terabyts Client Optics 04:27 - Hyperscalers and Neo-Clouds 05:13 - Cisco and Nvidia working together 05:39 - Scale Across 06:43 - Announcements from Nvidia GTC 2026 09:15 - Firewalls and AI Clusters 10:36 - The Future, Growth and Innovation 11:53 - Why have a Cisco Switch and a Nvidia Switch? 14:33 - Operating Systems on the Switches 16:42 - Infiniband vs Ethernet in the Data Centre 17:52 - Other Announcements from GTC 19:35 - Concerns around Data Centres 21:22 - Agentic AI in Data Centres 22:44 - Evolution of Soltware in Data Centres 25:07 - The Future of Vibe Coding 29:13 - Updates In the Routing Circles 30:43 - Open Source AI 32:11 - A view into the Future 35:14 - Outro Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #cisco #nvidia #agenticai