AI infrastructure · 04
The network, storage and cooling that make GPU servers work.
In a GPU cluster, optics and switches are often the longest-lead items on the order, and cooling decides what you can deploy at all. We source the fabric, storage and liquid-cooling hardware alongside the servers, so the whole cluster arrives together.
InfiniBand NDR / XDR · 400/800G Ethernet
Fabric
NICs · DPUs · OSFP / QSFP-DD optics · DAC / AOC
Connectivity
NVMe and NVMe-oF storage nodes
Storage
CDUs · manifolds · rear-door heat exchangers
Cooling
Overview
Planning the rest of the cluster
Training jobs that span many servers depend on a fast, lossless east-west network. Inference clusters care more about storage and front-end bandwidth. Both need power and cooling sized to the GPUs.
For GPU-to-GPU traffic between servers, buyers choose between InfiniBand (NDR 400G, XDR 800G) and Ethernet with RoCE at 400G or 800G. Each GPU usually gets its own network port, so an 8-GPU node needs eight high-speed NICs, the matching optics or cables and enough switch ports. The optics count surprises many buyers and is often the longest lead time.
AI storage has to feed GPUs fast enough to keep them busy. That means NVMe storage nodes, often shared over NVMe-oF, sized for the throughput your training data needs rather than only for capacity.
Air cooling tops out around 30–40 kW per rack. Blackwell-class systems and dense racks need direct-to-chip liquid cooling: coolant distribution units, rack manifolds and facility water connections. We coordinate this hardware with the server order and your facility team.
At a glance
- Switches
- InfiniBand Quantum-2 / -X800 class; 400/800G Ethernet
- Adapters
- 400G NICs and DPUs per GPU
- Optics
- OSFP and QSFP-DD transceivers, DAC and AOC cables
- Cooling
- In-row and in-rack CDUs, manifolds, RDHx
How we work
We source from India's established brands — we do not manufacture
Akarta Exports is a sourcing and export house. We do not own factories and we do not claim to. Our value is that we know which well-known Indian brands and manufacturers make what, to what standard, and at what price — and we buy from them to the exact specification you give us.
01 — Your specification, written down
We start from your specification, not from a catalogue. Grade, dimension, tolerance, finish, test standard, pack, artwork and labelling are put in writing and confirmed with you before a single enquiry goes out.
02 — Matched to the right Indian brand
We place that specification with established, well-known Indian brands and manufacturers in the cluster that genuinely makes the product — Morbi for tiles, Rajkot and Ludhiana for machinery, Meerut and Jalandhar for sports goods, Kerala and Gujarat for spices.
03 — Offers compared on merit
Because we own no plant and owe no factory a minimum offtake, we compare offers openly on quality, consistency, capacity and price — and tell you where a lower price will not hold up in your market.
04 — Inspected, consolidated, shipped
Our own inspectors clear the goods at the brand's plant and again before loading. Multiple brands and multiple divisions consolidate into one container, one invoice and one document set.
Brand names are disclosed to you on the offer and named on the inspection report, so you always know whose production you are buying. Where a buyer already has a preferred Indian brand, we are happy to source that brand and handle only the inspection, consolidation, documentation and shipping.
Are you an Indian manufacturer or brand owner in this sector? Register your plant with our export desk.
The range
What we source
- InfiniBand fabric
- NDR 400G and XDR 800G switches, host adapters, cables and transceivers for training clusters.
- Ethernet AI fabric
- 400G and 800G switches with RoCE v2, plus front-end and management switching.
- Optics & cabling
- OSFP and QSFP-DD transceivers, DAC, ACC and AOC cables, and structured fibre.
- Storage
- All-NVMe storage servers and NVMe-oF arrays for training data and checkpoints.
- Liquid cooling
- Coolant distribution units, rack manifolds, quick-disconnects and rear-door heat exchangers.
- Power & racks
- High-density racks, intelligent PDUs and busway components sized for GPU loads.
Technical data
Sizing reference
Indicative figures for the grades we ship most often. Exact values are confirmed per factory and per production batch on your quotation.
Swipe table to see all columns →
| Item | Typical spec | Per 8-GPU node | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPU fabric NIC | 400G (NDR / Ethernet) | 8 | One per GPU for training |
| Transceivers / cables | OSFP / QSFP-DD | 8–16 | Depends on topology and distance |
| Storage / front-end NIC | 100–200G | 1–2 | Separate from GPU fabric |
| Rack power | 40–130 kW per rack | — | Liquid cooling above ~40 kW |
Customs classification
HS codes for this range
Harmonized System codes most commonly used when clearing these goods. The final 8-digit tariff line is confirmed on your commercial invoice according to the destination country's tariff schedule.
| HS code | Classification |
|---|---|
| 8517.62 | Switches, NICs and other data-transmission apparatus |
| 8517.79 | Optical transceiver modules (parts of 8517) |
| 8544.70 | Optical fibre cables |
| 8471.70 | NVMe storage units |
| 8419.50 | Heat-exchange units (CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers) |
Quality assurance
Nothing leaves India until our own inspectors clear it
Akarta runs an in-house quality department with inspectors assigned to each division. Goods are checked at the factory during production and again before loading, against the written specification agreed on your purchase order — not against the factory's own grading.
- Switch, NIC and optic part numbers checked for compatibility with each other
- Cable lengths and types matched to your rack layout
- Cooling capacity checked against the GPU servers' heat load
- Warranty and support terms stated per item
ISO 9001:2015
Certified quality management system
Govt. approved
Registered Indian merchant exporter
In-house docs
Export paperwork prepared by our team
Packing & shipping
Packed the way your market receives it
Tell us the pack, carton print and shipping marks you need and we will quote against them. Loading plans are prepared before dispatch so the container arrives the way your warehouse expects it.
- Original OEM packaging, palletised for switches and CDUs
- Optics in sealed, anti-static packs
- Shipped with or ahead of the server order
Global reach
Quoted in your currency, shipped from your nearest Indian port
Enquiries reach us from importers, distributors, contractors and retail chains across five continents — Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. We quote FOB, CFR or CIF, load from Mundra, Kandla, Nhava Sheva or Pipavav depending on your routing, and keep one commercial contact accountable for the consignment from purchase order to bill of lading.
Africa
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa
Middle East
UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq
Europe
Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom
Americas
United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile
Asia-Pacific
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan
Load ports
Mundra · Kandla · Pipavav · Nhava Sheva
Incoterms
FOB · CFR · CIF · EXW on request
Correspondence
English, with documentation to buyer-country requirements
Buyer questions
What importers usually ask us first
InfiniBand or Ethernet?
InfiniBand is the established choice for large training clusters. Ethernet with RoCE is catching up and fits better with existing data-centre networks. We can quote both against the same design.
Can you quote a full cluster?
Yes. Send the number of GPU nodes and your site limits, and we'll put servers, fabric, storage and cooling on one quotation.
Common enquiries
Specifications buyers most often ask us to quote
These are the enquiries that reach this desk most weeks. If yours is on the list, we already have the grades, packing and loadability worked out — send the quantity and destination port and we will price it.
Also in this division
Related ranges
Export desk
Request a quotation
Send your product type, grade, quantity and destination port. Our export desk replies with available grades, packing options, loadability and indicative pricing — usually within one working day.
AI infrastructure desk
Buying GPUs, server memory, GPU server nodes or data-centre networking? These have their own two-step enquiry so the right specialist sees it first.
Open the AI hardware enquiry →