Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI cluster brings NVIDIA acceleration

Cisco introduced a new Nexus HyperFabric AI cluster solution featuring NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI software. The on-premise, enterprise-ready infrastructure is designed for scaling generative AI workloads.

The Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI cluster solution offers automated, cloud-managed operations across a unified compute and networking fabric combining Cisco's Ethernet switching based on its Cisco Silicon One chip, integrated with NVIDIA's accelerated computing and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, and VAST’s data storage platform. This will include:

• Cisco cloud management capabilities
• Cisco Nexus 6000 series switches for spine and leaf that deliver 400G and 800G Ethernet fabric performance
• Cisco Optics family of QSFP-DD modules
• NVIDIA AI Enterprise software to streamline the development and deployment of production-grade generative AI workloads
• NVIDIA NIM inference microservices that accelerate the deployment of foundation models while ensuring data security, and are available with NVIDIA AI Enterprise
• NVIDIA Tensor Core GPUs starting with the NVIDIA H200 NVL, designed from the ground up to supercharge generative AI workloads
• NVIDIA BlueField-3 data processing unit DPU processor and BlueField-3 SuperNIC for accelerating AI compute networking, data access and security workloads
• Enterprise reference design for AI built on NVIDIA MGX, a modular and flexible server architecture
• The VAST Data Platform, which offers unified storage, database and a data-driven function engine built for AI

“While the promise of AI is clear, the path forward for many just starting out is not. Customers often face economic and operational challenges to get an AI stack up and running.” said Jonathan Davidson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Networking. “Cisco is committed to making the deployment and operation of AI infrastructure simpler. Together with NVIDIA, we are delivering a simple-to-deploy, cloud-operated AI-stack solution for on premise deployments that builds on our Cisco Networking Cloud platform vision for automation and simplicity.”

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Cisco launches $1 billion AI investment fund

Cisco announced a $1 billion AI investment fund. So far, $200 million has been committed, including with:

• Cohere: Headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, Cohere provides security-focused frontier large language models (LLMs) and industry-leading Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities tailored to meet the needs of enterprises.
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  Mistral AI: Mistral AI is a global company headquartered in Paris specializing in generative artificial intelligence. The company develops new models of generative artificial intelligence for businesses, combining scientific excellence, an open approach and a responsible vision of technology.
• Scale AI: Based in the U.S., Scale AI provides a data-centric, end-to-end platform providing training and validation for AI applications. Cisco recently participated in Scale AI’s Series F funding as the round’s largest strategic investor.

"For more than 30 years, Cisco Investments has invested and partnered with hundreds of companies to drive innovation both within Cisco's core markets and in new strategic areas. Our recent investments in generative AI companies align perfectly with this long-standing strategy," said Mark Patterson, Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco. "At Cisco, we believe we are well positioned to be the best strategic partner for our customers in the AI era as they look to build, secure, and power AI. In addition to building essential technology to connect, secure and advance AI, Cisco is committed to investing in the broader AI ecosystem to more effectively meet our customers' needs."

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Intel sells 49% stake in Irish fab for $11 billion

Intel will sell a 49% equity interest in a joint venture entity related to Intel’s Fab 34 to Apollo for $11 billion.

Located in Leixlip, Ireland, Fab 34 is Intel’s leading-edge high-volume manufacturing (HVM) facility designed for wafers using the Intel 4 and Intel 3 process technologies. To date, Intel has invested $18.4 billion in Fab 34.

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager with approximately $671 billion under management.

Intel said the deal enables it to focus capital on other areas owhile continuing the build-out of Fab 34.

Under the agreement, the joint venture will have rights to manufacture wafers at Fab 34 to support long-term demand for Intel’s products and provide capacity for Intel Foundry customers. Intel will have a 51% controlling interest in the joint venture. Intel will retain full ownership and operational control of Fab 34 and its assets. Construction of Fab 34 is largely complete, and high-volume manufacturing of Intel® Core™ Ultra processors on Intel 4 technology began there in September 2023. The ramp of Granite Rapids, Intel’s next-generation data center product on Intel 3 technology, is also well underway.

“Intel’s agreement with Apollo gives us additional flexibility to execute our strategy as we invest to create the world’s most resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain. Our investments in leading-edge capacity in the U.S. and Europe will be critical to meet the growing demand for silicon, with the global semiconductor market poised to double over the next five years,” said David Zinsner, Intel CFO. “This transaction allows us to share our investment with an established financial partner on attractive terms while maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating.”

Intel marks first EUV light at Fab 34 in Ireland

Monday, January 02, 2023    

Intel celebrated first light from a new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system at its Fab 34 site in Leixlip, Ireland.The EUV scanner, which was supplied by ASML, generated its 13.5-nanometer wavelength light for the first time. The activation represents the first use of a high volume EUV scanner in Europe. Intel said the milestone ushers the way its Intel 4 technology, with manufacturing of products such as Meteor Lake expected in 20...

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Dell’Oro: Broadband Equipment Spending Reaches Two-Year Low

 Total global revenue for the Broadband Access equipment market decreased to $4.1 B in 1Q 2024, down 12 percent year-over-year (Y/Y), according to a new report from Dell’Oro Group. North American broadband providers reduced their spending by 25 percent Y/Y, as continued subscriber churn, excess inventory, and stubbornly high labor costs continue to put a damper on new equipment purchases.

“The North American broadband market is in the midst of a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape, which is having a significant impact on broadband equipment purchases,” said Jeff Heynen, Vice President with Dell’Oro Group. “In particular, cable operators are trying to navigate mounting, but predictable, broadband subscriber losses with the need to invest in their networks to keep pace with further encroachment by fiber and fixed wireless providers,” explained Heynen.

Additional highlights from the 1Q 2024 Broadband Access and Home Networking quarterly report:

• Total PON equipment spending was down 9 percent from 1Q 2023, driven by a 22 percent decline in spending on PON OLTs.
• Spending on Fixed Wireless CPE increased 29 percent in 1Q 2024, driven once again by strong growth in 5G Sub-6 Ghz unit shipments in North America.
• Spending on DOCSIS infrastructure plummeted 24 percent Y/Y, with spending on Remote OLTs and vCMTS licenses seeing the biggest declines.
• Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 Router and CPE unit shipments continue to show significant Y/Y increases.

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Telehouse America to upgrade NYIIX peering exchange with Nokia

Telehouse America has selected Nokia to update its NYIIX Peering Exchange production network in eight POPs located in the Northeastern United States. 

Once deployed, Nokia’s IP and optical interconnection solution will allow NYIIX to launch up to 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) interconnection services on the newly designed NYIIX Astron peering platform. 

The NYIIX Peering Exchange is one of the largest neutral IXPs in the world. Its mission is to provide the internet community with a neutral and scalable peering infrastructure, and to assure reliability and stable internet connectivity. Telehouse began operating in 1989 and is a global provider of carrier-neutral data centers, serving 3,000+ customers, including carriers, content providers, enterprises and financial services companies. Its US operation, Telehouse America, is a pioneer in the US data center industry, operating leading data center and colocation facilities in New York for over 35 years, providing direct access to major carriers with 99.999% SLA uptime.

Nokia has deployed a complete solution for Telehouse America that includes the Service Router Operating Systems (SR OS), 7750 Service Routers, 7250 Interconnect Routers and QSFP-DD 400G coherent optics. Nokia will also provide related professional services, such as network operator training and certification.

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Telia tests Nokia’s Massive MIMO outdoors in 6 GHz

 Telia completed a field pilot in the upper 6 GHz spectrum band range using a Massive MIMO based on Nokia’s AirScale Habrok platform.

The set up  could add crucial capacity and coverage to existing macro cell sites in dense urban environments for next-generation 5G-Advanced and 6G networks. 

Nokia says that given the rate at which data traffic is increasing, most operators will need to increase their TDD mid-band spectrum holdings in the second half of the decade. The allocation of the upper 6 GHz spectrum for mobile services, which means a possible 200 MHz of mid-band TDD spectrum per operator, was agreed upon at the World Radio Conference 2023. It is especially important in markets where the 7.2-8.4 GHz range will not be available.

During the trial, Nokia used a 128TRX Massive MIMO radio based on its AirScale Habrok platform and a test terminal from MediaTek with integrated antennas. The pilot examined whether the uplink coverage on the new, higher frequency is compatible with the existing inter-site distances. The companies tested the upper part of the band (n104) and used a 3.5 GHz massive MIMO cell of the same RF-bandwidth across various distances to replicate different real-world scenarios. Field tests confirmed the macro-grid-readiness of the upper 6 GHz spectrum used with Massive MIMO. It showed that massive capacity can be added in urban areas, where there is higher demand for TDD broadband, and high throughput can be achieved in suburban or rural areas. This offers operators an evolution path to 5G-Advanced and 6.

Luciana Camargos, Head of Spectrum at the GSMA, said: “The critical role which mobile networks play for society, enterprises and governments comes with increased demand for data traffic. Mobile operators need additional spectrum to serve growing connectivity needs, so commercialisation of the upper 6 GHz band will be an important tool in enabling the digital ambitions of each country.”

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HPE reports stronger AI server orders

Citing robust demand for AI servers, HPE reported revenue of $7.2 billion for its 2nd quarter ended April 30, 2024, up 3% from the prior-year period in actual dollars and 4% in constant currency.

Non-GAAP earnings per share amounted to $0.42, down 19% from the prior-year period and down 13% sequentially, above the company's guidance range of $0.36 to $0.41.

"HPE delivered very solid results in Q2, exceeding revenue and non-GAAP EPS guidance. AI systems revenue more than doubled from the prior quarter, driven by our strong order book and better conversion from our supply chain,” said Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “Our deep expertise in designing, manufacturing, and running AI systems at scale fueled growth of cumulative AI systems orders to $4.6 billion, with enterprise AI orders representing more than 15%. HPE’s AI advantage, increased HPE GreenLake adoption, and leading infrastructure portfolio, as well as an improved supply chain environment, set us up very well to deliver a strong second half."

“Stronger AI systems order conversion, prudent cost discipline, and higher-than-expected free cash flow drove a very solid performance in Q2. Because of our robust AI systems order momentum and disciplined execution across our entire portfolio, we are raising our revenue and non-GAAP EPS guidance for the full year,” said Marie Myers, executive vice president and CFO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Highlights

• Server revenue was $3.9 billion, up 18% from the prior-year period in actual dollars and in constant currency, with 11.0% operating profit margin, compared to 14.4% from the prior-year period.
• Intelligent Edge revenue was $1.1 billion, down 19% from the prior-year period in actual dollars and in constant currency, with 21.8% operating profit margin, compared to 24.7% in the prior-year period.
• Hybrid Cloud revenue was $1.3 billion, down 8% from the prior-year period in actual dollars and 9% in constant currency, with 0.8% operating profit margin, compared to 1.9% from the prior-year period.
• Financial Services revenue was $867 million, up 1% from the prior-year period in actual dollars and in constant currency, with 9.3% operating profit margin, compared to 8.9% from the prior-year period.

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Nokia supplies 10G PON to AccessPlus

AccessPlus will deploy Nokia’s XGS-PON fiber solution to enhance its fiber network and deliver new broadband services to its customers in the greater Pittsfield and Berkshires areas of Massachusetts. 

Using Nokia’s fiber solution, powered by the Quillion chipset, AccessPlus can quickly and efficiently boost speeds to 25G PON when and where needed, using the same network equipment.

Bassam El-Zakhem, Vice President Americas, Network Infrastructure at Nokia, said: “Fiber is increasingly being used by operators to connect everything with multi-gigabit services. As demand for multi-gigabit services grows, the use of next-generation fiber technology like XGS-PON and 25G PON will play a critical role in providing the ultra-broadband services customers require today and in the future. As the leading provider of XGS-PON globally and with more than 70% of fiber broadband lines in North America powered by Nokia, we were a natural fit for AccessPlus who was seeking a cost-effective path to 10Gbps and beyond.”

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