Intel Tofino Series

The Intel Tofino Series is a solution designed to enhance Ethernet switching with intelligence, high-performance, and real-time edge-to-cloud telemetry, according to Intel Corporation. It is specifically built to meet the needs of service providers and enterprises requiring robust networking solutions. Network administrators, data center operators, telecommunication companies, cloud service providers, and high-performance computing (HPC) facilities are among the professionals and industries that can benefit from the features and capabilities of the Intel Tofino Series.

Key Features

Intel Tofino 2: According to Intel, the next-generation programmable Ethernet switch is built with the same architecture as Intel Tofino and delivers up to 12.8 Tb/s bandwidth, making it suitable for hyperscale data centers.

Intel Tofino: Intel claims that the Intel Tofino is the world's first end-user programmable Ethernet switch, built using Protocol Independent Switch Architecture (PISA) and is P4-programmable. It is available in different SKUs to cater to various applications.

Intel P4 Suite: The Intel P4 Suite is a set of tools, APIs, and more, designed for developing and optimizing P4 software, according to Intel. P4 is an open-source language specifically designed for programmable packet processing devices.

Intel P4 Studio: Intel describes the Intel P4 Studio as a next-generation development environment for custom P4 software development. It offers a use case-driven toolset with resources for Intel Tofino Intelligent Fabric Processors. It is flexible and hardened for multiple control-plane options and provides production-ready data-plane implementations.

Intel P4 Insight: Intel states that the Intel P4 Insight software reduces development time and optimizes network software. It provides debugging tools and offers a detailed dashboard view of P4 program mapping to hardware resources.

Intel Deep Insight Network Analytics Software: According to Intel, this software enables real-time per-packet visibility into network infrastructure. It monitors and analyzes every packet drop, while also detecting and storing anomalies and events for historical analysis.

Real-Time Network Telemetry: The Intel Tofino Series, as per Intel, collects end-to-end data on network state in real-time, monitoring and identifying issues causing data bottlenecks and network failures. It enables quick configuration error fixing and data routing optimization for improved network performance.

Layer 4 Load Balancer: Intel claims that the Intel Tofino Series, along with P4 programmability, enables efficient load balancing without the need for complex appliances. Load balancing is done inside the switch, bridging the gap between switches and servers/appliances.

In-Network DDoS Detection: According to Intel, the Intel Tofino Series provides exceptionally high-performance for in-network tasks, enabling faster detection and more effective mitigation of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.