THE MACHINE ROOM
SECTION 04
ISSUE 001
Optical Circuit Switching Returns
Projection: Broadcom’s high-capacity switch and co-packaged optics show optical links moving deeper into AI networks, while the IEA makes power constraints salient. Reconfigurable optical circuits may serve predictable bulk flows with less electronic contention. The forecast needs workload evidence on utilization, reconfiguration delay, failure handling, and total power—not optical capacity alone.
Why this idea is here
What the evidence establishes.
Broadcom documents a 102.4-Tbps Ethernet switch with AI routing features and support for co-packaged optics; The IEA reports fast 2025 datacenter electricity growth, rising AI-focused load, and constraints in grids, transformers, turbines, and approvals. These are source-backed premises for this projection; they do not by themselves prove broad adoption or the eventual outcome.
Source ledger
Read the sources.
- S01Broadcom Ships Tomahawk 6
official hardware announcement / published 2025-06-03 / retrieved 2026-07-09
- S02Data centre electricity use surged in 2025
intergovernmental research release / published 2026-04-16 / retrieved 2026-07-09