Cisco has launched the 8223 routing system, designed to connect data centres for distributed artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The system, powered by Cisco’s new Silicon One P200 chip, provides 51.2 terabits per second (Tbps) of Ethernet routing capacity, the company said.
The 8223 addresses the growing demand for inter-data centre connections as AI workloads increase, stretching power and space limits in hyperscale data centres. The system supports “scale-across” architectures, enabling multiple data centres to work together efficiently.
“AI compute is outgrowing the capacity of even the largest data centre, driving the need for reliable, secure connection of data centres hundreds of miles apart,” said Martin Lund, EVP of Cisco’s Common Hardware Group. “With the Cisco 8223, powered by the new Cisco Silicon One P200, we’re delivering the massive bandwidth, scale and security needed for distributed data centre architectures.”
The 8223 system offers 64 ports of 800G, processing more than 20 billion packets per second and scaling to over 3 exabits per second. It includes deep buffering for traffic surges, 800G coherent optics for data centre interconnects up to 1,000 km, and line-rate encryption with post-quantum resilient algorithms.
The system is initially available for open-source SONiC deployments, with support for IOS XR planned. The P200 chip can also be used in modular and disaggregated chassis, allowing consistent architecture across network sizes.
Industry partners highlighted the potential impact of the system. Dave Maltz, technical fellow at Microsoft, said, “The increasing scale of the cloud and AI requires faster networks with more buffering to absorb bursts. We’re pleased to see the P200 providing innovation and more options in this space.”
Dennis Cai, vice president of Alibaba Cloud, added, “This new routing chip will enable us to extend into the Core network, replacing traditional chassis-based routers with a cluster of P200-powered devices.”
Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy, said, “Cisco’s 8223, powered by Silicon One P200, marks a significant step forward, delivering the industry’s first 51.2-terabit fixed Ethernet router purpose-built for secure, power-efficient scale-across networking.”
Cisco said initial shipments of the 8223 are going to hyperscale customers.
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