Meta testing Broadcom’s next-generation co-packaged optics switch, aiming at 1 million port-hours

Meta is among the organizations pushing next-generation data center networking hardware toward higher uptime targets, according to a report published by Yahoo Finance. The article says Micas Networks announced three new switches built on Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6 chip, including one compact co-packaged optics (CPO) switch using Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6-Davisson option.

CPO, or co-packaged optics, is an architecture that places optical transmitters and receivers very close to the networking chip to reduce distance, improve announcement performance, and enable higher throughput in space-constrained switching systems. In the report, the CPO switch is positioned as part of the move toward faster and more efficient interconnects for data center traffic.

The Yahoo Finance write-up attributes a key reliability milestone to Meta’s evaluation. It states that Meta “tested” Broadcom’s CPO switch for 1 million port-hours. A port-hour is a measure of time a network port is operating, so the metric functions as a proxy for expected durability and uptime under sustained load.

The same report points to performance and production timing. It says the CPO switch is expected to move into production, and it links that production outlook to the results of the testing effort. While the article’s framing suggests the test outcome is meant to de-risk scaling, it does not describe the exact test conditions, traffic patterns, or failure modes assessed during Meta’s evaluation.

Beyond the CPO model, the report also describes two other switches announced by Micas Networks that use Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6. It frames these as part of a broader switch portfolio aligned with Broadcom’s newest switching silicon, which is aimed at simplifying deployment and maintaining common performance and power characteristics across multiple hardware designs.

Meta, like other hyperscalers, has been steadily increasing internal network demands as cloud services, advertising systems, and AI workloads grow. Networking gear that can scale bandwidth, reduce latency, and maintain reliability is a recurring bottleneck, especially for the short-reach connections that sit inside large data center campuses.

Even in the most favorable depiction, the reported milestone leaves several questions unanswered. The Yahoo Finance piece does not publish the detailed measurement methodology behind “1 million port-hours,” nor does it break out whether that reliability target was achieved on specific port speeds, under particular cooling or power configurations, or with particular software and optics configurations. It also does not provide any information about commercial timelines, purchase quantities, or whether Meta is the only customer running evaluations of the Tomahawk 6-Davisson-based CPO design.

What to watch next is whether Meta and other operators convert testing results into phased deployments, and whether Micas Networks and Broadcom provide clearer product qualification and manufacturing details once systems enter broader production. Additional disclosures on sustained operation, optical component performance, and interoperability would be likely follow-ups as CPO moves from evaluation into wider rollout. (As of the time of the report, the available disclosures are focused on the testing milestone and an expected production path.)