The company scales inter-datacenter AI networks with lossless connectivity, end-to-end encryption, and capacity for over a million XPUs
The race to scale artificial intelligence infrastructure has taken a significant leap with the announcement of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): the company is now shipping its new Jericho4 Ethernet router to customers. This platform is specifically designed to connect more than a million accelerated processing units (XPUs) distributed across multiple data centers and can operate without packet loss even over distances exceeding 100 kilometers.
This launch marks a milestone in network design for hyperregional-scale AI clusters, overcoming the physical and energy limits of traditional data centers. Along with the Tomahawk 6 and Tomahawk Ultra switches, Broadcom offers a comprehensive suite to connect high-performance infrastructure (HPC) and generative AI systems that require minimal latency and extreme throughput.
🚀 Interconnecting data centers as a single distributed brain
The Jericho4 can scale up to 36,000 HyperPorts, each operating at 3.2 Tbps, using proprietary technology that consolidates four 800GE links into a single logical port. This innovation reduces bottlenecks, eliminates the need for load balancers, and improves network efficiency by up to 70%.
“Jericho4’s design responds to a new paradigm in networks for distributed AI,” explained Ram Velaga, senior vice president of Broadcom’s Switching Core group. “It enables an open and scalable architecture, from a single rack to entire regional networks, without sacrificing performance or security.”
🔐 Security, performance, and efficiency in the multi-data center era
Key features of Jericho4 include:
- Lossless RoCE over distances greater than 100 km, thanks to deep buffers and congestion control intelligence.
- MACsec encryption on all ports at line speed, ensuring security without compromising performance.
- 3 nm manufacturing process, allowing integration of long-reach 200G PAM4 SerDes, eliminating components like retimers, reducing energy consumption, and increasing system reliability.
- Full compliance with the Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC), ensuring interoperability with third-party NICs, switches, and software stacks compatible with this open AI network standard.
This modular and open approach is vital for cloud providers, telecommunications, and integrators aiming to expand from local racks to distributed gigawatt-scale infrastructures without relying on proprietary architectures.
🧠 Infrastructure for the next generation of AI
Large AI models no longer fit in a single data center. Experts indicate that training and deployment systems for generative AI are driving expansion toward distributed networks across physically separate locations. Jericho4 is designed to serve this need for massive interconnection with low jitter, high security, and energy efficiency.
System manufacturers like Accton, Arista Networks, Nokia, Micas Networks, DriveNets, and UfiSpace are already integrating Jericho4 into their AI fabric architectures, validating its scalability, energy efficiency, and extreme performance.
“With AI clusters overflowing the limits of a single building, Jericho4 provides the tools needed to scale networks from a single rack to distributed clusters across entire regions,” highlighted Ariff Premji, VP of engineering at Nexthop AI.
📦 Availability and the future of AI networking
Broadcom has confirmed that Jericho4 is already being shipped to selected clients and will be part of new scalable platforms for AI data centers.
With the inclusion of the HyperPort standard, high-performance MACsec encryption, and long-distance RoCE compatibility, Jericho4 positions itself as a key component in building a global network for the post-exascale era, where performance is no longer limited by the physical confines of the data center.
✅ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Jericho4 and why is it important?
It is Broadcom’s new Ethernet router designed to connect over a million XPUs in distributed AI networks across data centers, offering lossless performance, encryption, and regional scalability.
What is a HyperPort?
A Broadcom innovation that merges four 800GE links into a single logical port of 3.2 Tbps, removing inefficiencies and enhancing the performance of AI fabric networks.
What role does the UEC standard play?
The Ultra Ethernet Consortium promotes hardware and software interoperability for Ethernet networks focused on AI. Jericho4 is fully compatible, facilitating integration into open ecosystems.
What advantages does it offer over proprietary solutions?
It provides massive scalability, energy efficiency, lower cost per port, and compatibility across a wide range of manufacturers, reducing dependence on a single provider.