In this Light Reading Podcast, Corning's Brian Rhoney and Bob Whitman explained how fiber infrastructure and computing requirements in and across data centers need to change to support GenAI versus traditional cloud computing.
Generative AI (GenAI) workloads will require an immense amount of training and machine-to-machine connections within the data center. As a result, data center infrastructure will need to change to support this shift.
In this Light Reading Podcast, Brian Rhoney, director of enterprise market development for Corning Optical Communications, explains how fiber infrastructure and computing requirements will be different to support GenAI versus traditional cloud computing.
He's joined by Bob Whitman, global VP of carrier networks at Corning, who provides a look outside the data center at how fiber buildouts for longhaul networks and data center interconnect can support the rise of GenAI.
Whitman also explains why Lumen recently looked to Corning to reserve 10% of Corning's global fiber capacity over the next two years to facilitate the buildout of its network and interconnect AI-capable data centers. He discusses whether Lumen's decision is reflective of what other service providers are planning for GenAI infrastructure, and how well current long-haul fiber infrastructure supports AI services.
Click on the caption button for a lightly edited transcript.
Here are a few topics we cover:
How AI puts different demands on the data center versus cloud computing and general enterprise connectivity (03:34)
The type of fiber infrastructure in the data center that's required to support AI (05:48)
Will the fiber buildout phase to support AI be ongoing or more of a one-and-done? (08:19)
How AI could impact connectivity requirements for data center interconnect and long-haul networks (13:27)
Why Lumen announced an agreement with Corning, which will see Lumen reserve 10% of Corning's global fiber capacity for the next two years to facilitate the buildout of its network to interconnect AI-enabled data centers (15:26)
Does the partnership with Lumen reflect moves other telcos intend to make to support AI workloads? (17:27)
How well does the current long-haul/interconnect fiber infrastructure support AI services? (18:51)
Taking another look at fiber infrastructure requirements for AI services (21:39)
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