RoCE Breaks into the Top50 of the World’s Fastest Supercomputers

The InfiniBand® Trade Association (IBTA) continues to shape the future of high-performance computing (HPC) through its RDMA networking technologies, including InfiniBand and Ethernet RoCE. In the November 2024 TOP500 list, these technologies power 365 systems—73% of the world’s top supercomputers. InfiniBand accelerates 254 of these platforms, while RoCE-based Ethernet solutions connect 111 systems, underlining the growing adoption of RDMA networking for cutting-edge HPC and AI workloads.

InfiniBand’s Growing Leadership

  • InfiniBand connects 66 of the TOP100 supercomputers, continuing to lead in performance and scalability.
  • It powers 6 of the TOP10 most energy-efficient systems on the Green500 list, including the two top-ranked systems, emphasizing its efficiency for sustainable supercomputing.

RoCE Breaks into the TOP100

For the first time in nearly a decade, Ethernet has entered the TOP100, with RoCE-based systems securing notable positions. NVIDIA Israel-1 and GMO Internet’s RoCE deployments achieved the 34th and 36th spots, showcasing RoCE’s enhanced scalability and performance for demanding AI environments.

Figure 1: TOP500 Interconnect Trends – November 2024

The Role of RDMA Networking in the Convergence of AI and Scientific Computing

As AI becomes a critical component of modern scientific computing, the demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnects has intensified. RDMA technologies like InfiniBand and RoCE are at the forefront, providing the networking scalability required for AI training and inference workloads. Offering substantial bandwidth and exceptional efficiency, RDMA-based networking not only reduces total ownership costs but also accelerates training times—an essential metric for foundational AI effort. These advancements are fostering the convergence of AI and traditional HPC, enabling breakthroughs across research domains.

The November 2024 TOP500 list underscores InfiniBand’s vital role in shaping the future of supercomputing. With products supporting the IBTA’s XDR 800Gb/s InfiniBand specification becoming available in the very near future, the industry is prepared for the next leap in supercomputing performance. These technologies are pivotal in handling the growing complexity and scale of AI-driven and exascale computing tasks. InfiniBand and RoCE networking continue to demonstrate unmatched versatility, powering the systems that drive scientific discovery and innovation.

Published twice a year and publicly available at www.top500.org, the TOP500 list ranks the world’s most powerful computer systems according to the Linpack benchmark rating system.

Brian Sparks

IBTA Marketing Working Group Chair