Networking for A.I.: Accelerating Infrastructure for the Future

Executive Summary

The landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is rapidly evolving. With advancements in generative models, sovereign AI, and GPU-as-a-Service (GPU-aaS) platforms, the demand for robust, scalable networking solutions has never been greater. 6WIND, in collaboration with NVIDIA and Nvidia Cloud Providers (NCP), addresses this need with its Networking for A.I. solution, designed specifically for BlueField-3 DPUs. This productized offering combines the Virtual Service Router (VSR) and Host Networking Accelerator (HNA) to deliver efficient, secure networking tailored for Kubernetes-based AI workloads.

Introduction: The Network Challenges for AI

As AI becomes integral to enterprise innovation, the scalability of AI infrastructure is paramount. Cloud providers and infrastructure leaders are expanding to support diverse workloads, including real-time assistants and multimodal inference pipelines. The front-end networking environment, crucial for user interaction, data ingestion, and training orchestration, requires high-performance GPU clusters with fast and secure access.

Key Challenges

AI environments present unique networking challenges, particularly in managing bursty, unpredictable front-end traffic tied to model availability and cost sensitivity. Traditional networking architectures struggle with high packet rates and real-time policy enforcement. Building and maintaining hyperscaler-grade networks internally is complex and resource-intensive for GPU-aaS providers and enterprises alike.

6WIND Solution on NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPU

6WIND’s solution addresses these challenges with two core components:

• Virtual Service Router (VSR): Ensures secure entry and exit points with IPsec encryption, NAT, firewall capabilities, and VPC interconnects.
• Host Networking Accelerator (HNA): Powered by DPDK, it supports VXLAN or SRv6 overlays and offers VPC-level traffic isolation in Kubernetes environments.

Deployed on BlueField-3 DPUs, these components offload networking tasks from x86 CPUs, enhancing throughput and reducing latency. The solution integrates seamlessly as a Kubernetes-native CNI, facilitating real-time orchestration of routing and segmentation policies.

Business Benefits

• Boosted GPU Utilization: Up to 20 CPU cores per server are freed for AI workloads, enhancing infrastructure ROI.
• Faster AI Services: Sub-millisecond latency and dedicated offload paths ensure responsive AI applications.
• Zero-Trust Multi-Tenancy: Securely isolate each workload with VRF segmentation and ACLs, ensuring compliance and privacy.
• Elastic Scaling: Automated scaling of policies and routing paths supports dynamic AI environments.
• Lower Infrastructure Costs: Software-defined networking reduces capital and operating expenditures.
• Smarter Cost Control: Prompt-aware traffic routing optimizes GPU utilization and aligns with business objectives.

Use Cases for Performance and Security

• Inference Service Chaining: Securely route AI requests through custom service chains for compliance and performance.
• GPU-as-a-Service Platforms: Ensure predictable performance and isolated VPCs for multi-tenant environments, leveraging Nvidia Cloud Providers (NCP).
• Enterprise AI: Segment AI workloads across departments with dynamic network overlays.
• Hybrid and Sovereign AI: Maintain performance and compliance across cloud and on-premises environments.
• Compliance-Driven Pipelines: Meet regulatory requirements with in-flight encryption and traffic logging.

Deployment and Ecosystem

Built on BlueField-3, 6WIND’s solution integrates seamlessly with Red Hat OpenShift, Wind River, and NVIDIA DGX systems. It offers programmable networking with hardware acceleration and native Kubernetes support, ensuring scalability and performance for AI-native environments.

Conclusion

6WIND’s Networking for A.I. solution, leveraging NVIDIA’s BlueField-3 DPU and Nvidia Cloud Providers (NCP), sets a new standard in infrastructure-grade networking for AI applications. By offloading, accelerating, and isolating networking tasks, organizations can achieve greater efficiency, scalability, and security in their AI deployments.

For more information on how 6WIND can transform your AI infrastructure, contact us today.