The Register: The network is indeed trying to become the computer

Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/27/analysis_network_computing/
Source: The Register
Title: The network is indeed trying to become the computer

Feedly Summary: Masked networking costs are coming to AI systems
Analysis Moore’s Law has run out of gas and AI workloads need massive amounts of parallel compute and high bandwidth memory right next to it – both of which have become terribly expensive. If it weren’t for this situation, the beancounters of the world might be complaining about the cost of networking in the datacenter.…

AI Summary and Description: Yes

Summary: The text discusses the rising costs associated with networking for AI systems, highlighting the challenges posed by the limitations of Moore’s Law in providing sufficient compute power and memory bandwidth. This insight is particularly relevant for professionals concerned with cost-efficiency and performance in AI infrastructure.

Detailed Description: The content underscores the intersection of AI workloads and networking costs, emphasizing the following key points:

– **Moore’s Law Limitations**: The traditional law predicting the doubling of transistors on microchips approximately every two years is no longer driving the same improvements in performance and cost that it once did.

– **Growing Demands of AI Workloads**: AI applications require extensive parallel computing resources and high-bandwidth memory. The inability of traditional processing improvements to keep pace with these demands leads to performance bottlenecks.

– **Increased Networking Costs**: As AI systems grow in complexity, the cost of networking infrastructures—necessary to support the high volumes of data being processed—has also escalated dramatically. This may lead organizations to reassess their infrastructure strategies.

– **Implications for Data Centers**: The high costs and performance requirements may force a reevaluation of how data centers are designed and operated, potentially influencing investment in new technologies or architectures that can better support AI workloads.

This conversation is crucial for entities involved in the integration of AI into existing infrastructures, presenting an opportunity to focus on cost-effective solutions and innovative architectures that align with the evolving landscape of AI demands. Understanding these challenges allows security and compliance professionals to better prepare for associated risks and infrastructure needs in the AI domain.