Cisco is expanding its Secure AI Factory with Nvidia architecture with the addition of high-density servers from Supermicro.
Cisco is partnering with Supermicro to bring the server vendor’s liquid- and air-cooled systems into Cisco’s AI infrastructure portfolio. Specifically, Cisco will begin offering high-density Supermicro compute solutions as part of its Secure AI Factory with Nvidia architecture.
Secure AI Factory with Nvidia incorporates a wide range of products, including Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) servers powered by Nvidia GPUs and Blackwell Servers; Cisco Silicon One or Nvidia Spectrum-X switch silicon; Cisco networking; security tools such as Cisco AI Defense, Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Isovalent Runtime Security; Splunk for monitoring infrastructure health; and Nvidia AI Enterprise software. The packaged system can be validated end-to-end under Cisco’s and Nvidia’s architecture qualification and validation programs to accelerate deployment, reduce risk, and simplify operations, Cisco said in a statement.
With the Supermicro expansion, customers are gaining access to its rack-scale and dense GPU systems. Supermicro’s liquid- and air-cooled systems will be validated and sold as part of the broader Cisco AI infrastructure portfolio, Cisco stated.
“This expansion enables customers to easily manage complex, high-density AI clusters alongside non-AI workloads. Customers will also now be able to deploy rack-to-fabric liquid cooling, featuring Cisco liquid-cooled AI networking systems alongside Supermicro’s liquid-cooled servers. This unlocks trillion-parameter training and high-throughput inference use cases with platforms including Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 and Nvidia HGX Rubin NVL8,” Cisco stated. “By utilizing common operating models and existing technical competencies, organizations can implement a trusted AI infrastructure without the complexity of new, proprietary skill requirements.”
The expansion of liquid cooling options is an important component of the partnership. “Modern rack-scale systems, such as the Nvidia NVL72, can exceed 200 kW per rack, where liquid cooling becomes a system-level requirement rather than an option,” Cisco wrote in an FAQ about the announcement.
“Building on Cisco’s 100% liquid-cooled AI networking systems, liquid-cooled Cisco N9000 Series Switches interoperate directly with Supermicro’s rack-scale, liquid-cooled compute to deliver a rack-to-fabric liquid-cooled AI factory,” Cisco started. “This removes the thermal and power constraints that previously kept trillion-parameter training, high-throughput inference, and agentic AI out of reach for all but the hyperscalers. Also, it engineers the fabric for performance efficiency alongside the compute it serves.”
Cisco said it will begin offering Supermicro compute solutions as part of Secure AI Factory with Nvidia in October.
