The Ultra Ethernet (UEC) specification is set to be released next year, but AMD has already unveiled its first 400 GbE network card, the Pensando Pollara.
The Ultra Ethernet consortium has delayed the release of the version 1.0 specification from Q3 2024 to Q1 of the following year. However, AMD has announced the first board featuring this network interface for data centers — the Pensando Pollara 400.
The Ultra Ethernet 400 GbE card is built on a processor developed by AMD's Pensando division. This network processor includes a programmable hardware pipeline, a programmable RDMA transport, congestion control, and communication library acceleration. The device is expected to be commercially available in the first half of 2025, right after the consortium officially releases the UEC 1.0 specification.
The AMD Pensando Pollara 400 AI NIC is designed to optimize artificial intelligence and HPC networks through several enhanced capabilities. One of its key features is intelligent multipath dispersion, which dynamically routes data packets along the most optimal paths, preventing network congestion and enhancing overall efficiency. The network adapter also includes path-aware congestion control that redirects data from temporarily overloaded paths to ensure a continuous high-speed data stream.
The Pollara 400 offers fast failover, rapid detection, and bypass of network failures to support uninterrupted GPU-GPU communications, ensuring reliable performance at maximum utilization of AI clusters while minimizing latency. These features promise to enhance the scalability and reliability of AI infrastructure, making it suitable for large-scale deployment.
Sources: AMD, Tom's Hardware
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