Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced an expansion of its Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA, extending the platform to support artificial intelligence deployment beyond data centers to edge locations including hospitals, warehouses and mobile environments.

The expanded architecture enables organizations to run AI workloads at local sites where real-time decision-making occurs, according to the company's press release. Cisco stated the framework reduces deployment timelines from months to weeks while integrating security measures from implementation.

The company introduced support for NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs across its UCS and Unified Edge portfolios for enterprise edge applications. For service providers, Cisco announced the AI Grid reference design combining its Mobility Services Platform with NVIDIA RTX PRO Blackwell Series GPUs.

New hardware includes a 102.4Tbps Cisco N9100 switch powered by NVIDIA Spectrum-6 Ethernet switch silicon, joining the currently available 800G N9100 powered by NVIDIA Spectrum-4 Ethernet switch silicon. The Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric, now part of Cisco Nexus One, will support N9000 Series switches including the N9100 Series.

Cisco expanded its security capabilities by extending Hybrid Mesh Firewall policy enforcement to NVIDIA BlueField data processing units and integrating Cisco AI Defense with NVIDIA's agent development platform OpenShell. The AI Defense system will monitor and validate agent actions and tool usage.

"Most organizations understand the potential for AI to transform their businesses, but they're navigating how to deploy the technology safely and at scale," said Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco.

The company offers customers two reference architecture options: one compliant with the NVIDIA Cloud Partner program and another built on Cisco Silicon One technology.