Cisco becomes the first partner to offer a NVIDIA Cloud Partner-compliant reference architecture with new data center switching solutions. Together, Cisco and NVIDIA provide customers ultimate flexibility as they build critical AI infrastructure.
News summary
- With the new Cisco N9100 series switch, Cisco now offers neocloud and sovereign cloud customers a NVIDIA Cloud Partner-compliant reference architecture, delivering a unified operating model with the flexibility of NX-OS or SONiC.
- Cisco is introducing the Cisco Cloud Reference Architecture for neocloud and sovereign cloud customers; the new offering is based on the tenets of the NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architecture and utilizes Cisco Silicon One-based switches with embedded NVIDIA Spectrum-X capabilities.
- For enterprises, Cisco strengthens the Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA through advancements in compute, security, networking, observability and new ecosystem partnerships.
- Cisco, NVIDIA and other telecom industry partners unveil the first AI-native wireless stack for 6G, empowering telecom providers with a network transition path for the AI era.
Cisco introduced major advancements to accelerate secure and scalable AI across market segments. Leading the announcements is the Cisco N9100, the first NVIDIA partner-developed data center switch based on NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet switch silicon. With this switch, Cisco is offering a NVIDIA Cloud Partner-compliant reference architecture for neocloud and sovereign cloud deployments.
For enterprise customers, the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA strengthens protection and visibility across AI deployments with new security and observability integrations. To pave the way for next-generation connectivity in the telecom industry, Cisco, NVIDIA and additional partners unveiled the first AI-native wireless stack for 6G, reinforcing the growing demand for high-performance AI networking, enhanced data center efficiency, and secure cloud infrastructure across sectors.
Together, these innovations offer neocloud, enterprise and telecom customers the flexibility and interoperability to efficiently build, manage and secure AI infrastructure at scale.
“We’re at the beginning of the largest data center build-out in history,” said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco. “The infrastructure that will power the agentic AI applications and innovation of the future requires new architectures designed to overcome today’s constraints in power, computing and network performance. Together, Cisco and NVIDIA are leading the way in defining the technologies that will power these AI-ready data centers in all their varieties, from emerging neoclouds to global service providers, to enterprises and beyond.”
“NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet delivers the performance of accelerated networking for Ethernet,” said Gilad Shainer, SVP of Networking at NVIDIA. “Working with Cisco’s Cloud Reference Architectures and NVIDIA Cloud Partner design principles, customers can choose to deploy Spectrum-X Ethernet using the newest Cisco N9100 series or Cisco Silicon One-based switches to build open, high-performance AI networks.”
A portfolio for any AI workload
Back-end and front-end Ethernet-based networks must be flexible enough to keep pace with rapid AI innovation, integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure, and remain simple to deploy and manage. Orderable before the end of the year, the Cisco N9100 series switches offer a choice of Cisco NX-OS or SONiC operating systems, advancing Ethernet for AI networks and providing greater flexibility in how neocloud and sovereign cloud customers build their AI infrastructure.
With the N9100 as a foundation, Cisco will offer a NVIDIA Cloud Partner-compliant reference architecture. Cisco’s portfolio of Nexus data center switching solutions provides a unified operating model through Cisco Nexus Dashboard across Silicon One, Cloud-scale ASICs and now switches built on Spectrum-X Ethernet switch silicon.
Additionally, the Cisco Cloud Reference Architecture for neocloud and sovereign cloud customers is based on the design tenets of NVIDIA’s Cloud Partner reference architecture and utilizes Cisco Silicon One and Cloud-scale ASIC offerings. The reference architecture will also include the Cisco 8223 based on the Silicon One P200 for scale-across networks, NVIDIA BlueField-4 DPUs and NVIDIA ConnectX-9 SuperNICs.
Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA: Built for performance, security and resiliency
Since its unveiling at GTC in March 2025, the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA has offered enterprises a comprehensive architecture for AI infrastructure that prioritizes security and observability without sacrificing performance. With Cisco AI PODs and Cisco Silicon One-powered Nexus switching as the base, Cisco is delivering new capabilities across:
- Security and observability: Cisco AI Defense now integrates with NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails to strengthen cybersecurity for AI applications. AI Defense is orderable for on-premises deployment, enabling teams to protect AI models and limit sensitive data flow outside data centers. Splunk Observability Cloud provides real-time visibility into AI infrastructure health with Cisco AI PODs, while Splunk Enterprise Security extends protection to AI workloads.
- Core AI infrastructure: Cisco Isovalent is now validated for inference workloads on AI PODs. Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric AI, with a new cloud-managed Cisco G200 Silicon One switch delivering high-density 800G Ethernet, is now orderable for AI POD deployments. Cisco UCS 880A M8 rack servers with NVIDIA HGX B300 and Cisco UCS X-Series servers with NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs are now available, supporting workloads such as generative AI fine-tuning and inference.
- Ecosystem expansion: NVIDIA Run:ai software is now available through Cisco and partners for workload and GPU orchestration. Nutanix Kubernetes Platform is now a supported Kubernetes platform; Nutanix Unified Storage is also supported, with Nutanix Enterprise AI simplifying containerized inference operations.
- Government readiness: Cisco is collaborating with NVIDIA on the NVIDIA AI Factory for Government, a full-stack reference design for highly regulated environments.
The first AI-native wireless stack – with Cisco at its core
As AI moves into connected devices such as AR glasses, vehicles and robotics, wireless networks must support unprecedented scale and efficiency. Cisco, NVIDIA and telecom partners have developed the first American AI-RAN stack for mobile networks that integrates sensing and communication, with several pre-6G applications showcased at NVIDIA GTC DC.
This stack allows telecom providers to integrate AI into their mobile networks, beginning with advanced 5G services and laying the foundation for 6G. It combines Cisco’s user plane function and 5G core software with the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform, enabling physical AI and integrated sensing with strong efficiency and security.
Cisco and NVIDIA: Moving AI forward, together
The companies’ collaboration continues to accelerate, shaped by a shared vision of scalable, observable and secure AI infrastructure. The latest advancements further position Cisco as a key player in global AI infrastructure deployment across enterprises, neoclouds and telecom providers.
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