Meta Platforms Inc. today announced two new milestones for open infrastructure and datacenter networking hardware during the 2021 Open Compute Global Summit conference.

Those milestones included expanding Meta’s portfolio of next-generation of hardware for network switch fabric developed with multiple manufacturers and migrating data center network software to open standards.

They include new Wedge 400 and 400C top-of-rack switches, next-generation 200G and 400G fabric switches and the migration of data center network hardware to a standard and open application programming interface, the Open Compute Project Switch Abstraction Interface.

The Open Compute Project was launched by Meta in 2011, then Facebook, in order to open-source and share hardware design for data center networking to spur innovation and drive collaboration.

During that decade of operation, OCP has had a significant impact on the entire industry by promoting a transition away from siloed, proprietary systems and toward open, disaggregated networks with modular hardware for easy expansion and replacement.

Wedge 400/400C and next-gen 200G/400G fabric

Meta worked with longstanding partner Broadcom Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. to develop two next-generation top-of-the-rack switches: the Wedge 400 and 400C. The Wedge integrates Broadcom’s Tomahawk 3 application-specific integrated circuit, whereas the 400C uses Cisco’s Silicon One.

Both TORs are designed to offer a high front-panel port density and high performance for artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

This new hardware boasts multiple improvements over the Wedge 400S including four times the switching capacity — upgraded from 3.2 terabits per second to 12.8 terabits per second – with a field-replaceable processor.

Meta also announced two new next-generation 200G fabric switches, known as the Minipack2 (an upgrade of the Minipack, Meta’s modular network switch), and the Arista 7388X5, in partnership with Arista Networks Inc. Both of these new switches are backward compatible with previous 100G switches and also support upgrades to 400G.

Both switches also use the Broadcom Tomahawk 4 ASIC and versions of 7388X5 use a Credo chipset. These are high-performance switches that can transmit up to 25.5 terabits per second. The hardware also offers a significantly reduced power per bit compared to previous models, making it more sustainable and efficient.

The Arista model shares key features with the Minipack2 but also offers hyperscale cloud capabilities and flexible operating systems.

Meta’s network operating system now powered by an open API

Meta’s network operating system for controlling the network, Facebook Open Switching System, traditionally used the specific API provided by the chip manufacturer. Now, FBOSS has been adapted to use the Open Compute Project Switch Abstraction Interface, a standard and open API.

Additionally, Meta has worked with Cisco Systems to support FBOSS with SAI with their ASICs.

That means data centers can quickly and easily migrate FBOSS across multiple ASICs from different manufacturers with greater ease. It also allows engineers to rapidly configure new networking hardware without the need to tinker with chipset development kits.

Meta expects that with hardware being shared through OCP, supporting SAI will also mean closer collaboration with and feedback from the wider industry. Developers and engineers from across the world will have a chance to work with this open hardware and contribute their own software that can be shared with the industry.

Photo: Meta