Cisco Ethernet and validated designs at AI Field Day
At AI Field Day, Cisco demonstrated its latest advancements in Ethernet technology and validated designs, underscoring the importance of sturdy network infrastructure for AI applications. Their presentation focused on the improved performance, scalability, and security of their Ethernet solutions, designed to help organizations efficiently utilize AI. This initiative exhibited Cisco’s dedication to innovation in networking and artificial intelligence, ensuring enterprises have the reliable network performance needed to optimize their AI investments. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by Alastair Cooke.
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Cisco Ethernet and validated designs at AI Field Day
Taking Technology to the Edge at Edge Field Day 3
Stephen Foskett announces Edge Field Day 3, set for September 18-19, focusing on the critical advancements in edge computing across sectors, with insights from VMware by Broadcom, Avassa, and Tsecond on networking, data migration, and AI. ZEDEDA and OnLogic will provide expertise on edge orchestration and computing solutions, enhancing practical applications in challenging environments. This event will be broadcast live, promoting interactive participation and dialogue on technological advancements in edge computing.
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Taking Technology to the Edge at Edge Field Day 3
AIFD5 Recap
In this LinkedIn video, Mitch Ashley discussed how major tech vendors like VMware and Elastic are incorporating AI, ML, and GenAI into their business strategies. He highlighted the unique approaches these companies take in integrating advanced technologies into their operational frameworks and products. Ashley’s analysis underscores the rapid pace of technological innovation fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence.
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VMware Private AI at AI Field Day
At AI Field Day, VMware focused on private AI solutions, delivering a secure, controlled deployment environments for AI models. VMware’s infrastructure and cloud technologies are leveraged to ensure compliance and security while enabling businesses to capitalize on AI advancements. The presentation underlined the tailored benefits and potential industry-specific solutions offered by VMware’s private AI initiatives. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by Alastair Cooke.
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VMware Private AI at AI Field Day
Elastic brings Vectors to Semantic Search at AI Field Day 5
At AI Field Day 5, Elastic introduced an enhancement to its semantic search capabilities by integrating vector search. This new feature not only supports the creation and storage of vector data but also facilitates the use of multiple embedding models, improving memory efficiency through techniques like quantization. These advancements significantly enhance the precision and relevance of search results, positioning Elastic as a crucial player in the development and testing of Large Language Model applications and related technologies. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by Alastair Cooke.
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Elastic brings Vectors to Semantic Search at AI Field Day 5
Keysight
Justin Warren comments on the Keysight Technologies presentation at AI Field Day 5. Coming from a legacy of innovation tracing back to HP/Agilent, and enhanced by acquiring Ixia, Keysight has unveiled a new AI data center test platform dedicated to benchmarking AI network performance and optimizing GPU clusters. This role is critical as it addresses reducing latency and optimizing expensive AI systems, especially during model training, with the capability to handle network troubleshooting at speeds up to 800 Gb/s. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article.
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Cisco Says AI Networking Is Just Another Workload
During Cisco’s presentation at AI Field Day 5 the company positioned AI networking as a regular workload appearing in enterprise IT environments. The company highlighted the importance of a flexible network structure capable of handling varied workloads, leveraging their robust cloud networking foundation seen in products like UCS and Nexus to manage the demands of AI technologies. Despite the challenges associated with GPU clusters, Cisco remains optimistic about using its existing software-defined networking solutions to support AI applications, with the pragmatic adoption by early users shaping the future integration of AI in networking strategies. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by Justin Warren.
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Cisco Says AI Networking Is Just Another Workload
AIFD5 Preview
Justin Warren shares his thoughts on this week’s AI Field Day event, highlighting the presentations by Elastic and VMware. Watch for more of Justin’s posts on PivotNine and LinkedIn.
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Keysight at AI Field Day
At AI Field Day, Keysight highlighted its AI infrastructure testing solutions which leverage the capabilities from its Ixia acquisition. The company’s innovative test platform helps in optimizing network performance by emulating AI workloads, addressing common issues like data starvation and network congestion which contribute to 20% of AI job failures. This platform, which has evolved to include AresOnce hardware for traffic generation, also offers in-depth customizable settings and analytics through Jupyter Notebooks, enabling precise network tuning and enhanced performance. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by AI Field Day delegate Alastair Cooke of The Futurum Group.
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Integrail at AI Field Day 5
At AI Field Day 5, Integrail presented its innovative no-code platform, Integrail Studio, which simplifies the creation of specialized AI agents capable of collaborating to tackle complex challenges. The platform incorporates a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, allowing the integration of large language models with business data, enhanced by Retrieval Augmented Generation for increased precision. Furthermore, Integrail facilitates advanced agent capabilities, including customizable workflows, output chaining, and the secure management of proprietary data, supported by benchmarking tools to maintain efficient large language model performance. Read more in this LinkedIn Pulse article by AI Field Day delegate Alastair Cooke of The Futurum Group.
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AI Solves All Our Problems
Although AI can be quite useful, it seems that the promise of generative AI has lead to irrational exuberance on the topic. This episode of the Tech Field Day podcast, recorded ahead of AI Field Day, features Justin Warren, Alastair Cooke, Frederic van Haren, and Stephen Foskett considering the promises made about AI. Generative AI was so impressive that it escaped from the lab, being pushed into production before it was ready for use. We are still living with the repercussions of this decision on a daily basis, with AI assistants appearing everywhere. Many customers are already frustrated by these systems, leading to a rapid push-back against the universal use of LLM chatbots. One problem the widespread mis-use of AI has solved already is the search for a driver of computer hardware and software sales, though this already seems to be wearing off. But once we take stock of the huge variety of tools being created, it is likely that we will have many useful new technologies to apply.
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Broadcom’s AI Networking Solutions at Networking Field Day 32
In this August 2023 LinkedIn Pulse article, Ed Horley shared his experiences from Networking Field Day 32, where Broadcom showcased its AI Networking Solutions. The presentations provided valuable insights into how AI workloads are influencing networking infrastructure, highlighting significant differences from traditional data center workloads.
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Broadcom's AI Networking Solutions at Networking Field Day 32
10-Minute Marvels: The Tech Revolution Redefining Mainframe Agility
In this LinkedIn Pulse article, Marian Newsome discusses the resurgence of mainframes in the enterprise technology landscape, particularly through PopUp Mainframe’s recent demonstration at Tech Field Day Extra, where CEO Gary Thornhill showcased the rapid deployment of mainframes within minutes. This innovation challenges traditional views on mainframes as complex and outdated, as the integration of AI into mainframe DevOps enhances agility while maintaining the systems’ legendary stability, crucial for critical functions like handling 90% of global credit card transactions. PopUp Mainframe’s solutions promote a blend of agile methodologies with ethical AI practices, enabling quick z/OS environment deployments that comply with security standards.
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10-Minute Marvels: The Tech Revolution Redefining Mainframe Agility
The Shifting Focus of AI at AI Field Day 5
AI Field Day 5 is coming on September 11-13, reflecting the shift in enterprise AI from large-scale models to practical applications, including vector databases and agentic AI. The event will gather industry leaders like Cisco, VMware, Keysight, and Arista to explore real-world applications, AI-ready infrastructures, and private AI solutions. Attendees will also hear from companies like Integrail, Elastic, and Enfabrica to learn about next-generation AI capabilities. Tune in live on LinkedIn or Techstrong TV!
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The Shifting Focus of AI at AI Field Day 5
App Modernization Adoption Surges Prompting Integration of AI
The surging adoption of application modernization, driven by the necessity to update over 80% of enterprise applications that lag behind technological standards, is catalyzing a projected market growth to $24.8 billion. Despite challenges like skill shortages and budget issues, integrating AI and automation has become key in improving operational efficiency and maintaining a modern application ecosystem, particularly in critical sectors like banking. This strategy not only enhances agility but also fortifies applications against potential vulnerabilities, ensuring sustained innovation. Read more in this article by Gestalt IT’s Sulagana Saha on the Techstrong DevOps site, inspired by a presentation by Paul Nashawaty at AppDev Field Day!
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App Modernization Adoption Surges Prompting Integration of AI
Taming Architectural Complexities of DCN Fabric Technologies with Cisco Nexus One Fabric Experience
Cisco’s Nexus One Fabric technology, as presented at Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live, aims to simplify the complexities of Data Center Network (DCN) fabrics by offering a unified, automated solution. The Cisco Nexus One Fabric Experience centralizes management, allowing users to efficiently oversee diverse networking environments while reducing operational overhead. Through this approach, Cisco addresses the challenges of modern, multi-layered data center architectures, enhancing visibility, control, and scalability for network operators. The solution is designed to streamline operations and support the evolving needs of today’s data centers. Read more in this article by Sulagna Saha for Gestalt IT.
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Taming Architectural Complexities of DCN Fabric Technologies with Cisco Nexus One Fabric Experience
Don’t Get Caught in the DevOps Loop
In her first article on DevOps_com, Sulagna Saha of Gestalt IT discusses the critical need for flexibility in DevOps implementations, cautioning against the restrictive nature of the conventional DevOps loop. Highlighting insights shared by Mitch Ashley at a talk during AppDev Field Day, the piece advocates for a sprint-based methodology that enhances efficiency by enabling teams to manage smaller, independent tasks. This approach emphasizes collaborative, adaptable strategies that optimize both individual and team contributions, steering away from rigid, uniform processes.
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Don’t Get Caught in the DevOps Loop
Ethernet is not Ready to Replace InfiniBand Yet
AI networking is making huge strides toward standardization but Ethernet isn’t ready to displace the leading incumbent InfiniBand yet. In this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast, Tom Hollingsworth is joined by Scott Robohn and Ray Lucchesi to discuss the state of Ethernet today and how it is continuing to improve. The guests discuss topics such as the dominance of InfiniBand, why basic Ethernet isn’t suited to latency-sensitive workloads, and how the future will improve the technology.
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Ethernet is not Ready to Replace InfiniBand Yet
From Legacy to Leading-Edge: Embracing Mainframe Modernization with BMC
BMC showcased its approach to mainframe modernization at the SHARE conference, highlighting the challenges of updating legacy systems that often operate on outdated COBOL programs. Their solution, the AMI DevX platform, features tools like Code Insights that assist in refactoring COBOL into contemporary, manageable components. The platform also integrates generative AI to simplify the analysis of these complex systems for new developers, thereby accelerating the modernization process and ensuring the continued robustness of critical enterprise infrastructure. Read more in this article by Gina Rosenthal, who attended the BMC presentation at Tech Field Day Extra at SHARE Kansas City 2024.
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From Legacy to Leading-Edge: Embracing Mainframe Modernization with BMC
AI is Not a Fad
The current hype about building massive generative AI models with massive hardware investment is just one aspect of AI. This episode of the Tech Field Day podcast features Frederic Van Haren, Karen Lopez, Marian Newsome, and host Stephen Foskett taking a different perspective on the larger world of AI. Our last episode suggested that AI as it is currently being hyped is a fad, but the bigger world of AI is absolutely real. Large language models are maturing rapidly and even generative AI is getting better by the month, but we are rapidly seeing the reality of the use cases for this technology. All neural networks use patterns in historical data to infer results, so any AI engine could hallucinate. But traditional AI is much less susceptible to errors than the much-hyped generative AI models that are capturing the headlines today. AI is a tool that augments our knowledge and decision making, but it doesn’t replace human intelligence. There is a whole world of AI applications that are productive, responsible, and practical, and these are most certainly not a fad.
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