Energy Optimized Breakout Architecture for Data Centers

This white paper presents the collaborative testing results conducted by Cisco, Panduit, and Keysight on breakout architectures in data centers. It outlines the increasing demand for higher network speeds and compute capabilities, driven by applications such as Artificial Intelligence. The paper explains how breakout architectures can enhance energy efficiency and maximize return on investment by distributing high-speed ports into multiple lower-speed connections. It details a theoretical scenario demonstrating significant power savings achieved through these architectures, highlighting a 53.3% reduction in power consumption per 16-cabinet row. The document also discusses the importance of advanced Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and increased port density in driving the adoption of breakout designs. Furthermore, it addresses operational management complexities and offers best practices for implementing these architectures. The findings aim to provide data center operators with concrete data and practical solutions for optimizing energy usage and reducing operational costs.