Sun Datacenter Switch 3456

Extreme Switching Efficiency

Consolidation comes to switching

The Sun Datacenter Switch 3456 is a remarkable fabric consolidation platform. For example, it can replace as many 300 discrete switching elements and 3456 copper cables that would be specified for a similar Clos network. Sun's innovative 12x cable, the equivalent of three CX-4 cables, reduces the number of copper cables by [one third]. Also, the switch chassis is designed with an integrated cable management system that directs 1,152 copper cables to below-the-floor or above-the-ceiling datacenter cable troughs. The Sun DS 3456 eliminates up to 10 tons of racks, switches, and copper cabling typically required in alternative Clos fabrics.

Scale up as fast and far as you want

The Sun DS 3456 leverages the Sun Blade 6048 InfiniBand Switched Network Express Module (NEM). This NEM serves a compact modular leaf switch that fits into each Sun Blade 6048 shelf. Its on-board switching extends your fabric to PetaScale dimensions to include up to four Sun DS 3456 units for a total of 13,824 end nodes. As you scale up to this more efficient system, you save on power and space while gaining throughput.

Reduce your power costs

As for power efficiency, a fully populated Sun DS 3456 consumes less than 36KW under load. Now you can consolidate your switching to gain much higher density and throughput while saving on both power and cooling.

Higher Switching Performance

12x connector density

The Sun DS 3456 delivers PetaScale computing through three key Sun innovations, all industry firsts. It starts with the world's highest-density connector. This advanced connector and cabling system consolidate three 4x connections into a single connector on our new 12x passive cable, the equivalent of three CX-4 cables. The connector and cabling on the Sun DS 3456 utilize active circuitry and are paired with the Sun Blade 6048 IB Switched NEM. The result is a cable management system that doubles the cable length for the DDR transmission. It saves money, cable, and time.

Full Clos flexibility

The second key innovation is the interconnectivity between all front panel ports by incorporating a full five-stage Clos fabric for non-blocking network topology.

Embedded leaf switching

And the third innovation comes from combining the Sun DS 3456 switch with the Sun Blade 6048 IB Switched NEM to scale up to a four-switch PetaScale architecture.

Open and ready for PetaScale challenges

This switch redefines what you can do in High Performance Computing. It can give you up to 2 PetaFLOP performance with just 1 microsecond DDR latency. And there's nothing proprietary about it. Its x64 computing architecture and InfiniBand DDR interconnect let you use the software you know best: Solaris OS, Linux, Open-MPI, Open-Fabrics stack, and Open Fabric Manager.

Fastest Time-to-Solution

Built for reliability

A fully populated Sun DS 3456 offers 720 InfiniBand switching elements connected in a full Clos or Fat-Tree topology. The modular chassis holds up to 18 vertically installed fabric cards, each with eight fan units. It includes N+1 power and redundant chassis management controllers.

Easy management through the Solaris OS

The entire fabric is managed with a Solaris HCA-attached host-based Subnet Manager. It includes layer 1 and 2 management with companion fabric management.

Help is available, any time

Sun Customer Ready program delivers solutions built in Sun's factories based on your specifications. It makes for a smooth deployment. Our experts will help you with design validation, integration, and testing, for both Sun and third-party components, before they leave the factory. You'll receive complete systems ready to deploy, reducing your risk and overhead while accelerating your return on investment.