Interface Masters Smart Switch Delivers 11.2tbps Switching and Routing With Xsight Labs DPUs

Xsight Labs, represented by VP of BizDev Ted Weatherford and distinguished engineer John Carney, introduced a smart switch developed with Interface Masters, designed for government security applications. This 1RU device offers 28x 400G connectivity using modern QSFP112 100G SerDes, powered by Xsight Labs’ X2 12.8terabit Ethernet switch chip. A key feature is 1.6 terabits of line-rate stateful processing (Layer 4-7) provided by two E1 DPUs, which together offer 128 ARM cores and up to 1 terabyte of DRAM (0.5 TB per DPU). This solution boasts significantly higher compute and networking density per rack unit compared to incumbent offerings, delivering a “line rate smart switch” that is available bare metal.

The presentation also showcased a larger 6.4 terabit top-of-rack (ToR) solution, integrating eight E1 DPU add-in cards into a PCIe motherboard, providing 500 Neoverse 2 ARM cores and up to 2 terabytes of memory. This proof of concept, developed for a major US Cloud Service Provider, demonstrated substantial power and cost savings, up to 25% less power and less than half the cost, compared to traditional deployments. Crucially, both the E1 and X2 chips incorporate comprehensive packet timing features, including a stratum three clock, real-time clock logic for timestamping interfaces, PTP synchronization, and physical PPS in/out connectors, making them suitable for timing-sensitive applications.

Xsight Labs positions its X-series Ethernet switch as a superior ToR upgrade strategy for AI and general compute fabrics. Instead of relying on expensive, high-power, and often oversized 51.2 terabit switches, their solution offers a programmable, high-performance alternative at a fraction of the cost ($1,500 vs. $14,000), consuming significantly less power (300-400 watts) and occupying just one RU. This not only frees up rack space for additional GPUs but also provides lower latency and flexible congestion management. By optimizing for typical ToR needs, where downlink speeds rarely exceed 400 gig per NIC, Xsight Labs aims to reduce overall infrastructure costs and power consumption in data centers and infrastructure-as-a-service environments.