High-Fidelity Network Simulation Platform for Pre-Silicon Validation
Enabled hardware vendors to validate next-generation network architectures prior to manufacturing, reducing capital risk and accelerating innovation cycles.
Situation
An advanced compute platform provider sought to deliver simulation capabilities for networking equipment vendors developing next-generation switches, routing systems, and high-speed interconnects. Existing tools lacked the fidelity required to simulate modern AI/ML-driven network demands at packet-level granularity.
Solution
Developed a high-fidelity simulation platform built on a discrete-event network simulation framework extended through custom C++ modules. The platform integrated directly with vendor engineering workflows, enabling collaborative validation with research and engineering teams.
OUTCOMES
Challenges
Protocols
- •RDMA modeling gaps
Workloads
- •GPU distributed workloads
Switching
- •Switch buffering behavior
- •Congestion propagation modeling
Performance
- •Fabric realism gaps
Solutions
Packet-Level Fabric Simulation
Packet-level simulation of full network fabrics, with top-of-rack, spine, and interconnect layers.
- Modeled full multi-tier network fabrics with packet-level precision
- Simulated realistic traffic across switching layers
- Enabled validation before hardware fabrication
Advanced Transport Modeling
Custom modeling of advanced transport protocols and low-latency communication mechanisms.
- Implemented RDMA and latency-sensitive protocol models
- Represented custom transport communication behavior
- Supported emerging AI infrastructure requirements
Switch Behavior Emulation
Accurate emulation of switch behavior, with queueing, pause frames, and congestion propagation.
- Modeled congestion propagation across fabrics
- Recreated hardware switching characteristics accurately
Vendor-Extensible Libraries
Vendor-extensible libraries enabling hardware teams to validate proprietary features.
- Provided extensible simulation modules for vendors
- Supported proprietary feature experimentation
- Enabled collaborative engineering validation workflows