CLUSTER NETWORKING OPTIMIZATION

Full-Lifecycle Construction of AI Computing Clusters

SEA provides end-to-end AI cluster services — from network planning, data center design, and construction integration, to cluster tuning, O&M management, and scheduling optimization — ensuring maximum performance for large-model AI workloads.

NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Three-Layer Network Planning Services

A well-architected network is the backbone of a high-performance AI cluster. We design three dedicated networks to eliminate bottlenecks and maximize parallel computing efficiency.

Compute Network

Parallel Computing Network

High-bandwidth, low-latency network infrastructure purpose-built for GPU-to-GPU collective communication. Supports NCCL, RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), and InfiniBand to maximize GPU utilization during large-model training.

Storage Network

Data & Storage Network

Ultra-high-throughput network dedicated to data read/write and storage traffic. Provisioned with premium specifications to ensure I/O never becomes a bottleneck that constrains parallel-computing performance or training throughput.

Management Network

Business & Management Network

Dedicated management plane for cluster device administration, user access control, and business operation workflows. Isolated from compute traffic to ensure security, stability, and predictable latency for control-plane operations.

NETWORK COMPARISON

RoCE vs. InfiniBand:
Why GRoCE Wins

For large-scale AI clusters, RDMA over Converged Ethernet (GRoCE) delivers significantly lower total cost of ownership while maintaining high-performance collective communication across thousands of GPUs.

SEA recommends GRoCE as the default compute network solution for clusters requiring rapid deployment, cost efficiency, and operational simplicity without sacrificing performance.

$3.75M Savings for a 1,000-GPU cluster vs. InfiniBand
$12.5M+ Savings for a 4,000-GPU cluster vs. InfiniBand

GRoCE Advantages

Rapid Deployment

GRoCE can be delivered within weeks, compared to several months for InfiniBand lead times.

High Compatibility

Fully compatible with standard Ethernet infrastructure, enabling seamless integration with existing data center environments and operational tools.

Stability & Reliability

Mature technology with extensive production deployments. DCQCN congestion control and PFC ensure lossless, predictable network behavior under heavy AI workloads.

Cost Efficiency

Leverages commodity Ethernet switches and standard cables, dramatically reducing CapEx while maintaining near-IB performance for distributed training.

Data Center Design
STEP 01

Data Center Design & Planning

Comprehensive data center infrastructure planning to ensure your AI cluster is built on a solid, scalable foundation. SEA's engineering team conducts thorough site surveys and produces detailed floor plans before any equipment is deployed.

  • Data center site survey — power, cooling, floor space, fiber access
  • Rack layout, PDU outlet types, cable tray routing design
  • Rated power per rack planning and ME retrofit assessment
  • Cross-data-center architecture for disaster recovery
Cluster Construction
STEP 02

Construction & Integration

Professional on-site construction, integration, and commissioning to bring your AI cluster online safely and efficiently. Every step follows a strict quality checklist verified jointly with the customer.

  • Joint on-site inspection upon equipment arrival — outer packaging, hardware SN, BMC access
  • OS installation, boot verification, and BIOS/firmware validation
  • Static hardware checks — GPU count, NVLink topology, PCIe lanes, NIC configuration
  • GPU power stress testing using gpu-burn

SERVICE LIFECYCLE

End-to-End Cluster Services

From initial planning to ongoing operations, SEA covers every phase of the AI cluster lifecycle with professional expertise and proven methodologies.

Data Center & Construction Services

Site surveys, rack planning, equipment commissioning, and hardware validation — every step documented and quality-checked.

1

Site Survey

Physical site assessment: power availability, cooling capacity, floor space, and network fiber access for the target cluster footprint.

2

Rack & Power Design

Rack layout planning, air conditioning positioning, PDU outlet selection, and cable tray routing aligned with cluster network topology.

3

Incoming Inspection

Joint inspection on delivery: outer packaging condition, hardware configuration verification, BMC access, and SN-based asset registration.

4

GPU Stress Testing

GPU power burn-in using gpu-burn tools to validate stability and cooling performance under full compute load.

Cluster Tuning & Optimization

Multi-layered, modular, system-level tuning that delivers the high-performance network environment required by large-model AI workloads.

Network Performance Testing

  • Perftest: bidirectional bandwidth and latency benchmarks for IB and RoCE
  • Network hardware fault diagnosis and cable continuity testing
  • NCCL all-reduce and all-gather collective communication tests
  • Cluster communication verification across all nodes
  • Standard model training test for end-to-end validation
  • Actual compute MFU (Model FLOPs Utilization) measurement

Fault Scanning & Verification

  • Cluster fault scanning: server connectivity, GPU driver status, GPU drop-off detection
  • NIC drop-off and port-down diagnosis following initial configuration
  • IB network validation via UFM (Unified Fabric Manager)
  • Switch renaming and link verification through UFM interface
  • Baseline testing, single-rail testing, and slow-node screening
  • Test-parameter adjustment and iterative performance optimization

Collective Communication & Performance Optimization

  • Hardware-accelerated communication optimization (NIC Offload)
  • Collective communication algorithm optimization for NCCL
  • Communication-aware load balancing to eliminate GPU idle time
  • Dynamic performance monitoring and topology-aware scheduling
  • Device operating status, network traffic, and topology data monitoring
  • Automated alerting and remediation for performance degradation

O&M Platform & Fault Management

The AI computing center monitoring and management system provides enterprises with comprehensive O&M services — from monitoring and alerting to automated operations and intelligent analytics.

Tenant Management

Multi-tenant isolation, quota management, resource allocation, and billing for cloud-native AI compute clusters.

Asset Management

Hardware asset inventory, lifecycle tracking, warranty management, and hardware change management.

Device Monitoring

Real-time GPU/CPU/memory/network metrics, temperature, power consumption, and utilization dashboards.

Early Warning & Alerting

Configurable thresholds, multi-channel alerts (email, SMS, webhook), and intelligent anomaly detection.

Fault Diagnosis

Root cause analysis, error code lookup, topology visualization, and guided remediation workflows.

Automated Operations

Scheduled tasks, batch operations, firmware updates, and self-healing scripts for unattended O&M.

Intelligent Analytics

Predictive analytics, capacity forecasting, training job profiling, and performance trend analysis.

Configuration Management

Expert CLI interface for rapid device configuration. DCQCN, RDMA NIC parameters, and trap-alarm settings management.

Scheduling Platform & Job Management

Purpose-built for the management, scheduling, and end-to-network O&M of large-model AI training workloads.

1

Priority Scheduling

Multi-level priority queues ensure high-importance jobs get GPU resources first. Configurable priority rules per tenant, user, or job type.

2

Preemptive Scheduling

Preemption support allows critical jobs to temporarily suspend lower-priority workloads, maximizing cluster responsiveness to urgent compute demands.

3

Fault-Tolerant Job Rescheduling

Automatic job restart and checkpoint-based recovery upon GPU or node failures. Minimize wasted compute cycles from transient hardware issues.

4

Topology-Aware Scheduling

Intelligent job placement that considers network topology, NVLink/NUMA affinity, and NCCL communication patterns to minimize cross-node bandwidth bottlenecks.

System-wide Resource Overview

The scheduling platform provides a unified real-time view of all cluster resources — GPU availability by node, network topology, job queue status, training efficiency metrics (MFU), and cost attribution per tenant. Spine-Leaf architecture planning ensures optimal East-West traffic patterns with maximum path diversity and minimal oversubscription.

WHY CHOOSE SEA

The SEA Advantage

Complete range of GPU models, high cost-effectiveness, ready to use — serving multiple applications with a thousand-card cluster and professional full-lifecycle services.

Easy Cloud Access

Utilize SEA's mature AI cloud computing technology to help your team integrate existing computing resources and easily go to the cloud.

Rich GPU Resources

Not only H100, A100, but also multiple types of GPU resources to meet various computing power needs across large models, AIGC, finance, and healthcare.

Professional O&M

7×24 hour on-site technical support, with rich experience in daily operation and maintenance, fault handling, and emergency response.

High Availability

Redundant disaster recovery, strict access control monitoring, and fiber optic ring network with a connectivity rate of 99.99%.

Deep Customization

Pre-planning, post-operation and maintenance management, personalized solutions, supporting module customization and flexible infrastructure customization.

Cluster Management

Utilize SEA's comprehensive AI computing power cluster management system to alleviate the work pressure of cluster managers and improve efficiency.

SEA IT Innovation
WHY SEA IT

Trusted AI Infrastructure Partner

SEA IT Innovation optimizes GPU underlying hardware and software to define a high-performance GPU computing platform. We provide industry users with flexible, ready-to-use GPU computing power and acceleration services, accelerating the delivery of applications in AI across various industries.

  • Elastic and scalable computing services to reduce IT costs and improve operational efficiency
  • Customized, highly available, highly secure data center leasing and server hosting services
  • Based on SEA's mature products, we provide cost-effective solutions for private deployment and public services
  • Comprehensive AI computing power cluster management system to alleviate cluster manager workload

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

SEA recommends a Spine-Leaf architecture using RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE v2) for the compute network. This design maximizes East-West traffic bandwidth, minimizes latency between GPUs across nodes, and significantly reduces cost compared to InfiniBand — especially at 1,000+ GPU scale. The storage and management networks are planned as separate isolated planes to prevent I/O contention.

A typical 64–256 GPU cluster with RoCE networking can be fully deployed, integrated, and tuned within 4–8 weeks from equipment delivery. Larger clusters (512+ GPUs) may take longer due to cabling complexity. SEA's pre-planning and modular commissioning process ensures predictable timelines and minimal downtime.

SEA validates cluster performance through a multi-stage benchmark suite: Perftest for raw network bandwidth and latency, NCCL tests for collective communication efficiency, single-node and single-rail GPU burn-in, and full Model FLOPs Utilization (MFU) measurement using standard training workloads. SEA typically targets >50% MFU for well-tuned large-model training clusters.

Yes. SEA's data center design services include cross-data-center architecture planning for disaster recovery, capacity scaling, and geographic distribution. The scheduling platform supports multi-site job placement and WAN-level network optimization for distributed training across regions.

SEA supports a comprehensive GPU lineup including NVIDIA H100 (80GB SXM5), A100 (80GB SXM), and A100 (80GB PCIe), with additional GPU types available on request. Clusters can be configured with single-node multi-GPU (up to 8 GPUs per server) and multi-node rack-scale configurations.

Ready to Build Your AI Cluster?

Contact SEA IT today for a professional cluster networking assessment and customized solution design.

Copyright © 2024.SEA IT INNOVATION SDN BHD All rights reserved.