NetApp and Cisco expand FlexPod solutions for AI workloads

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced new validated solutions designed to support artificial intelligence workloads through their FlexPod infrastructure platform.

The expanded FlexPod offerings target three primary use cases: enterprise AI deployments for retrieval-augmented generation and semantic search, AI inferencing and RAG workflows for departmental teams, and edge computing applications that require low latency operations.

The enterprise AI deployment solution incorporates NetApp AFX disaggregated storage, future functionality from NetApp AI Data Engine that integrates the NVIDIA AI Data Platform reference design, and security controls from Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA. The solution includes Cisco AI networking infrastructure with Nexus One designed to optimize processor utilization and reduce job completion times.

"As IT teams are tasked with delivering reliable, consistent performance across environments, AI workloads are placing increasing demands on their data infrastructure," said Dallas Olson, Chief Commercial Officer at NetApp. The company stated that FlexPod has saved customers up to 20 percent of their time in infrastructure management and maintenance.

The AI inferencing solution aims to reduce cost, complexity, and specialized skill requirements for teams deploying AI infrastructure. The edge computing solution extends FlexPod architecture to remote locations while maintaining operational consistency through centralized fleet management and automated orchestration.

"As organizations move from AI experimentation to real‑world deployment, security can't be an afterthought. It has to be built in from the start," said Jeremy Foster, General Manager and Senior Vice President at Cisco.

The companies collaborated with NVIDIA to build FlexPod solutions based on NVIDIA Enterprise Reference Architectures. The announcement was made during Cisco Live! at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

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