5 Trends Impacting Data Center Switch Technology

Data centers are the backbone of our increasingly digital world. As more groups adopt cloud-first strategies and people engage with data-driven apps, their importance grows daily. Vast amounts of data and services now flow through these infrastructure hubs.

At the core of any data center lies a network smoothly connecting a wide range of servers, storage, and networking equipment. This setup relies on superfast transfers of giant data flows between different levels. Only through high-performance networking switches can today's immense data movement occur optimally and with minimum wait times.

Therefore, data center switches are vital in connecting each part of the facility. They allow frictionless data transmission between all infrastructure layers, powering cloud applications and consumer services. Moreover, as digital needs grow rapidly, these network switches must evolve similarly to support future requirements.

Here are five major trends shaping the future of data center switch technology.

1. Higher Port Densities and Throughput

Among the most significant trends is the push for higher port densities and throughput capabilities in data center switches. As more servers and storage are packed tightly into racks to save space, switches that can connect to many ports while staying small are needed.

Data center switches with hundreds of ports in just one or two rack units are becoming more common.

Moreover, data workloads and bandwidth-hungry apps like artificial intelligence also drive the need for faster switch ports and higher throughput. Ports supporting 10 gigabits per second were standard until recently. Now, 25, 40, and 100 gigabit ports are standard. Some new switches even have 400 gigabit ports and can handle data throughput of several gigabits per second.

Leading switch companies constantly work to push these limits further. For example, best Networks offers a 32-port 400-gigabit switch that fits in a single rack unit. It has an impressive total throughput of 12.8 terabits per second. As 100 gigabit ports become basic, future switches may soon feature 800 gigabit or 1.6 terabit ports.

2. Advanced Switching and Routing

Data center switches are getting smarter. In the past, switches mainly focused on connecting devices on the local network (Layer 2) and basic routing between networks (Layer 3). Now, switches need more advanced features.

Switches must support dividing networks between multiple users. They also need to connect virtual networks that spread across physical devices. Traffic must flow optimally between computing resources.

Switch ASICs can now be programmed. This allows networks to use new protocols quickly. It helps optimize how workloads use computing power and network traffic. Vendors offer operating systems like SONiC that make switches flexible.

Switches also commonly support Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow, which helps automate network management. Balancing loads, low latency, East-West traffic handling, and packet brokering within the switch fabric are gaining importance, too.

It has also become important to monitor switch and network performance closely. Advanced telemetry provides comprehensive visibility into operations for efficiency.

3. Higher Energy Efficiency

Saving energy is very important for large data centers. A significant cost comes from the power switches used. So, measuring how much power a switch needs to process network traffic is key.

Switch companies focus on using less power through better circuit boards and part designs. New switch circuit boards are optimized to use less energy in different workloads. Some advanced switches can individually control power to each port or scale power dynamically based on usage.

Thanks to these innovations, the latest switches with 100 gigabit or multiple 400-gigabit ports can now operate at a power usage effectiveness level of one or below. This means the power used for the whole data center equals the energy needed to run the computers and network gear.

4. Emphasis on Programmability and Automation

Switch platforms focus on features that simplify operations in dynamic, multi-tenant environments. That being said, programmability and automation are important capabilities.

These switches can run virtual network services like apps. They use containers to start and stop them dynamically. Strong APIs and software development kits allow the building of network and management apps for layers 2 through 7 to be accessible.

Furthermore, integrated monitoring and unique interfaces also help automate deploying, operating, and troubleshooting networks.

Leading platforms now offer central control using standard ways to connect. Some vendors are creating multi-cloud controllers to simplify setup across on-site and public clouds.

These capabilities are key as data centers change to automated, app-based "Intent-Based Networking" designs. The goal is for networks to handle themselves using the described features, freeing up teams to focus on other tasks.

5. Emphasis on Security and Hardware Verification

Security vulnerabilities have emerged as a critical concern for data center switches, second only to performance and functionality. The threat surface expands as switches increasingly focus on SDN environments' control plane functions.

At the same time, risks of misconfiguration, firmware issues, and hardware flaws also raise concerns about multi-tenant infrastructures.

Top switch vendors have strengthened security practices and verification across their platforms. Features like encrypted management, ACLs, sFlow/NetFlow monitoring, and integration with centralized security controllers aid visibility and control.

Careful design reviews and implementation of best practices help minimize malware or exploit risks targeting switch software/firmware.

Closure

As demand for data center capacity and performance grows exponentially, switch technology advances on multiple fronts, including port densities, throughput, energy efficiency, programmability, and security.

These trends aim to support hundreds of gigabits per second or terabits per second of non-blocking traffic while simplifying operations through open automation.

Therefore, coming generations of data center switches promise to scale the infrastructure to greater heights through continued innovation.