In a landmark deal unveiled Tuesday, Cisco and Nvidia say they did make a’ cross-portfolio unified infrastructure to improve building AI-ready data center networks,’ which includes a plan by Nvidia to incorporate Cisco’s Silicon One chip into its Spectrum-X Ethernet platform.
A groundbreaking agreement that involves the joint development of Ethernet-based connectivity options for AI data centers was announced by Cisco Systems and Nvidia on Tuesday, which sets out how they hope to accelerate business AI adoption.
The expanded lender’s main objective is the creation of a” cross-portfolio unified infrastructure to simplify building AI-ready data center networks,” according to the network and AI technology giants’ press release. This is intended to make it simpler for customers and partners to “integrate and standardize on both Cisco and Nvidia technology.”
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Jim Kavanaugh, co-founder and CEO of solution provider superstar World Wide Technology, hailed the expanded Nvidia-Cisco agreement, which he said “has already resulted in cutting-edge AI solutions that generate innovation and business change”.
By leveraging the advantages of Cisco’s deep understanding of the data center and Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI technologies, we are poised to deliver unmatched value to our customers and assist them in navigating the complexities of AI adoption with confidence, said Kavanaugh, whose company is No. 7 on CRN’s , in a statement.
The new collaboration includes a plan by Nvidia to incorporate Cisco’s application-specific integrated circuit ( ASIC ) into its Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform, which it said last August was on track to become a “multibillion-dollar product line within a year”.
The two companies said this move makes Cisco” the only partner silicon supported in Spectrum-X Ethernet solutions”, adding that it will enable interoperability between both companies ‘ networking architectures” to provide” simplified, full-stack solutions. ” This will allow customers and partners to use” their existing management tools and processes, spanning front- and back-end networks, “according to Cisco and Nvidia.
This integration between Nvidia’s and Cisco’s networking architectures will also allow their customers to” benefit from current and future technology advancements in the Nvidia Spectrum-X platform such as adaptive routing, telemetry, congestion control and low latency, as well as Cisco’s broader networking, security and digital resilience portfolio, including the Splunk data platform,” the companies said.
As part of the partnership, Cisco plans to develop data center switches using Nvidia’s Spectrum-X Ethernet platform, which the companies said will provide customers and partners” with more choices and flexibility.
The networking giant also plans to work with Nvidia to” create and validate Nvidia Cloud Partner and based on Nvidia Spectrum-X with Cisco Silicon One, Hyperfabric, Nexus, UCS Compute, Optics and other Cisco technologies”.
Cisco plans to make its Silicon One-based switches—including Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric and Cisco USC products—compatible with Nvidia’s Spectrum-X platform and reference architecture by the middle of the year. The companies stated that a later date would be revealed the schedule for Cisco switches that would include Spectrum-X.
Cisco and Nvidia are working together to reduce customer barriers and help them optimize their infrastructure investments to unlock the potential of AI, according to Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins in a statement.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang stated in his own statement that” Nvidia Spectrum-X is Ethernet enhanced and supercharged for AI.” ” Together with Cisco’s enterprise platforms and global reach, we can assist companies worldwide in building state-of-the-art Nvidia infrastructure as they work to integrate AI.”