When should RoCE be considered to enhance network performance in a multi-node AI computing environment?

RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) enhances network performance by offloading data transport to the NIC via RDMA, bypassing CPU involvement. It’s particularly valuable when high CPU utilization limits bandwidth usage, as it reduces overhead and unlocks full link capacity. While RoCE can handle storage traffic, it’s less effective with high packet loss (requiring reliable networks), making CPU-bound scenarios its prime use case.

(Reference: NVIDIA Networking Documentation, Section on RoCE Benefits)