### **NVLink: High-Speed Direct Connections Between GPUs** - **What it does:** NVLink allows GPUs to communicate directly with each other at extremely high speeds without relying on the CPU or traditional networking. - **Why it’s special:** This direct connection minimizes delays (called latency) and dramatically boosts the speed of data transfer between GPUs, making it ideal for training massive AI models. Think of it like a superhighway between GPUs, instead of a slower road where data has to stop at traffic lights. Traditional Ethernet networks, while great for general computing, aren’t fast or efficient enough for the enormous data needs of AI. NVLink and InfiniBand are purpose-built to handle the “east-west” data traffic that happens between GPUs and servers in AI workloads, ensuring the system operates at peak performance without bottlenecks. In short, **NVLink is ideal for GPU-to-GPU communication**, while **[[InfiniBand]] is perfect for connecting everything across a data center**—both are essential for the high demands of modern AI and HPC.