back to article Custom silicon, 9PB storage boxes, and 25Gb Ethernet – just another day in AWS hardware

AWS says it has moved into building its own silicon to help deliver the throughput for its massive cloud service. The profitable side of the Amazon empire says it has started using a custom-designed Annapurna ASIC chip to help control the networking activity – both physical and SDN – in its AWS servers. This is freeing up the …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Gimp

    That's nice

    "Our take right now is, this is the right size facil. "

    Just missing "... e way to extract cash from the credulous". Perhaps the . is an abbreviation.

    It sure sounds impressive but will it scale?

    Cheers

    Jon

    1. Robin

      Re: That's nice

      It sure sounds impressive but will it scale?

      I read it as being a description of what they're currently using, or at least part of it. So yeah, I guess it does.

  2. Daniel B.
    Boffin

    It's showing

    They've reduced pricing for S3 storage. So they are getting more bang for buck with these things!

    1. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: It's showing

      AWS pricing is more about how much they can get away with before people start moving to Google than the underlying cost of providing the service.

      1. IHateWearingATie
        Alert

        Re: It's showing

        Isn't that a succinct description of a free market?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    >> The custom chips also power a custom AWS network architecture that uses 25Gb Ethernet, a format Amazon believes is actually more scalable and efficient than the 10Gb and 40Gb Ethernet standards commonly used.

    I don't get it. Does anyone have any details from the conference on why this is the case?

    1. Tom Womack
      Boffin

      25Gbit can be run over a single fibre wavelength or (amazingly) over within-rack lengths of Cat8 copper; 40Gbit either uses four 10Gbit fibres or (more expensive) four wavelengths on a single fibre.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: twinax cable

        Not Effin cat8.

        1. Tom Womack

          Re: twinax cable

          No, actually Cat8, twisted pair rather than twinax (40GBASE-T). Not sure what black magic they're using in the transceivers. The cable needs to be shielded and tested up to 2GHz, but it is a twisted-pair cable.

    2. chris 143

      25G down a single wavelength, so 50G and 100G are also easy options. 40G is actually 4x10g.

      Also the 25G costs are pretty similar to 10G..

      1. ThreadGuy

        Actually 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T will both work over Cat-8 cable. The standards were ratified earlier this year, not that lack of standards is likely to hold back a big monolithic operation like AWS.

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