WASHINGTON – Cisco Systems on Tuesday unveiled new data centre networking gear built with Nvidia technology, aiming to capture growing demand for infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence (AI) workloads across cloud and telecom networks.
The networking company launched the Cisco N9100 series switch, developed with Nvidia’s Spectrum-X Ethernet technology, as part of a new reference architecture for “neocloud” and sovereign cloud customers.
Cisco said the design complies with Nvidia’s cloud partner standards and allows operators to run either its own NX-OS or the open-source SONiC system.
The announcement, made at Nvidia’s GTC event in Washington, shows how hardware makers are competing to provide the backbone for AI data centres, which require higher bandwidth and lower latency than conventional cloud environments.
“We’re at the beginning of the largest data centre build-out in history,” said Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s president and chief product officer. He said the new systems were designed to handle the power and performance demands of emerging AI models.
Cisco collaboration with Nvidia
The partnership extends Cisco’s collaboration with Nvidia, which has sought to expand its footprint in data centre networking alongside its dominant position in AI chips.
Nvidia’s senior vice president of networking, Gilad Shainer, said the joint designs would let customers “build open, high-performance AI networks” using Ethernet-based systems.
Cisco also said it is expanding its Secure AI Factory platform, integrating Nvidia’s software to enhance monitoring and cybersecurity for AI applications. The update adds observability tools from Splunk, which Cisco acquired earlier this year, as well as new server options using Nvidia’s latest GPUs.
In the telecom sector, Cisco and Nvidia announced what they called the first AI-native wireless stack, a platform that could help mobile operators prepare for future 6G networks.
The system combines Cisco’s 5G core software with Nvidia’s AI Aerial technology to manage data traffic and sensing functions.
