Cisco, Nvidia Join Forces on AI Data-Center NetworkingCisco, Nvidia Join Forces on AI Data-Center Networking

Cisco is teaming up with Nvidia to create a networking platform for artificial intelligence-ready data center networks that partners and their customers can use interoperably.

The two companies announced on Tuesday an expansion of their partnership to provide improved AI networking solutions to enterprises. Specifically, this will be through the Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform. Interoperability between the companies' technologies will aim to meet customers' needs for simplified, full-stack solutions.

Simplifying the process of integrating and standardizing between Cisco and Nvidia technology will allow customers to benefit from future advancements on the Spectrum-X platform as well as the broader Cisco portfolio of networking, security and digital resilience solutions.

Cisco agreed to develop data center switches with the Nvidia Spectrum Ethernet platform. It will also work with Nvidia to create and validate Nvidia Enterprise Reference Architectures (ERA) and NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) Reference Architectures based on NVIDIA Spectrum-X with Cisco Silicon One, Hyperfabric, Cisco Nexus, UCS Compute, Optics, and other Cisco technologies.

Cisco's Chuck Robbins

“Enterprises are under immense pressure to deploy AI quickly and effectively, and many leaders struggle to justify the investment while balancing the risks,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco. “Together, Cisco and Nvidia are partnering to remove barriers for customers and ensure they can optimize their infrastructure investments to unlock the power of AI.”

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Nvidia's Jensen Huang

“Advancing at lightspeed, AI will revolutionize every industry,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Nvidia Spectrum-X is Ethernet-enhanced and supercharged for AI. Together with Cisco’s enterprise platforms and global reach, we can help companies worldwide build state-of-the-art Nvidia infrastructure as they race to transform with AI.”

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One of the companies' biggest partners, World Wide Technology, sees this is another big step forward in the AI opportunity for the channel.

WWT's Jim Kavanaugh

“World Wide Technology’s longstanding partnerships with Cisco and Nvidia has already resulted in cutting-edge AI solutions that drive innovation and business transformation,” said Jim Kavanaugh, co-Founder and CEO of World Wide Technology. “By leveraging the strengths of Cisco’s deep expertise in the data center and Nvidia's advanced AI technologies, we are poised to deliver unparalleled value to our customers and help them navigate the complexities of AI adoption with confidence.”

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Cisco intends to make several updates to its Silicon switches by midyear. No word yet on a release date for the new Spectrum switches.

The Cisco-Nvidia partner ship expansion comes weeks after Cisco's latest quarterly earnings report where it beat estimates and saw revenue increase significantly year-over-year. New orders alone grew 29% in the company's fiscal second quarter, though, as noted, the hyperscalers are providing extra competition.