The Other AI Data Center Challenge: Network Bottlenecks

We tend to think of access to high-density power and the massive cooling requirements of AI servers as the primary technical challenges to artificial intelligence adoption.  But those are not the only infrastructure hurdles. It’s important to ensure that your network can handle the stress that AI compute and model storage requirements will create.

AI requires not only greater power, but network capacity of a new magnitude to transmit the ocean of data that flows back and forth.  The Wall Street Journal reports on a projection by International Data Corporation that global investment in AI switches, with significantly higher capacity than traditional switches, will grow 8x from current levels to become a billion-dollar market by 2027. 

Even the most advanced on-prem data centers may not have the network capacity and resiliency to efficiently pursue advanced AI solutions.  Cloud solutions and modern, well-connected colocation data centers may be your best options. If your enterprise is considering AI opportunities in Eastern Pennsylvania, read the Direct LTx executive report Filling the Need for AI Infrastructure in the Philadelphia Market.