The first Ethernet switch chip with 102.4 Tbps speed is now available. It connects over one million processors using wires or optics for AI systems.
Broadcom Inc. has begun shipping the Tomahawk 6, the first Ethernet switch chip with 102.4 Terabits per second (Tbps) of bandwidth—twice the speed of any existing switch. Tomahawk 6 supports 100G/200G SerDes, co-packaged optics (CPO), and routing functions to interconnect over one million XPUs.
To improve power and cost use across systems, the switch integrates with Broadcom’s SerDes and optics portfolio. The chip supports 200G SerDes with long reach for passive copper, enabling low-latency, reliable connectivity with lower total cost of ownership. A version of the chip supports 1,024 native 100G SerDes lanes, giving flexibility for building systems with copper links and direct 100G XPU connections.
CPO support enables optical connections, reducing latency, link errors, and failure rates. This builds on experience from earlier Tomahawk versions and is used in dense AI setups.
The switch also includes Cognitive Routing 2.0, which offers congestion control, telemetry, fault detection, and packet trimming. These functions allow real-time traffic control and load distribution, making the switch usable for scale-up and scale-out AI tasks like mixture-of-experts and reinforcement learning.
By supporting both optical and copper interconnects, Tomahawk 6 enables a unified Ethernet setup with shared tools and protocols. Cloud operators can adjust their setup based on task needs. Several deployments are planned using Tomahawk 6, including systems with over 100,000 XPUs.
To support use across the industry, Broadcom has introduced the Scale-Up Ethernet (SUE) Framework. Announced at OCP Dublin 2025, the SUE Framework gives open specifications for XPU and NIC interconnects and will be shared with standards groups including the Open Compute Project (OCP).
“Tomahawk 6 is not just an upgrade – it’s a breakthrough,” said Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager, Core Switching Group, Broadcom. “It marks a turning point in AI infrastructure design, combining the highest bandwidth, power efficiency, and adaptive routing features for scale-up and scale-out networks into one platform. Demand from customers and partners has been unprecedented. Tomahawk 6 is poised to make a rapid and dramatic impact on the deployment of large AI clusters.”
