This article was published in Rick Telecom's "Business Network" in January 2026.

Sakura Internet has built Japan's largest AI learning cluster with 800 GPUs as the foundation for its cloud-based HPC service, Sakura ONE.
The new cluster, which has been recognized worldwide for its 49th-place supercomputer performance ranking, took just four months to build. Moreover, the GPU-to-GPU connections were configured using white-Box switches and the open-source OS SONiC. What were the factors that led to the success of this extraordinary challenge?

"^We achieved 49th place in the Top500, a global ranking of supercomputer performance. We are particularly proud that our system is the best in the world, using open technologies such as Ethernet and SONiC."
Takami Inoue, who is in charge of infrastructure development at the Cloud Services Department of the Cloud Business Headquarters, is proud of Sakura ONE, the cloud-based HPC system provided by Sakura Internet.
Sakura ONE is a service for large-scale LLM development that incorporates the construction and operation technology cultivated by the company, which has been a leader in the GPU cloud business in Japan.
As a pioneer, the company adopted SONiC to launch the initial version of Sakura ONE. Based on the know-how that has been internationally recognized by Top500, the company has rebuilt it with new technology and is now offering it as a commercial service.
In the Top 500, custom-built supercomputers dominate the top spots, and in most cases GPU clusters are built using vendor-specific protocols such as the HPC-specific InfiniBand network. Sakura ONE, on the other hand, is unique in that it is implemented using highly transparent technology using general-purpose GPU servers and Ethernet.

It is built using a combination of white Box switches and the open source OS SONiC, open technologies not found in other top companies, and Sakura ONE is the only system in the top 100 that uses SONiC.

*Announced on June 10, 2025 at ISC2025, an international conference and exhibition on HPC.

Left: Mr. Sasaki from our company Center: Mr. Kurosawa from Sakura Internet Co., Ltd. Right: Mr. Inoue from Sakura Internet Co., Ltd.

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