At Networking Field Day, Forward Networks unveiled AI Assistant, a natural language interface enhancing its platform with generative AI, signifying a leap in network technology usability and trust. Distinguished from ordinary AI tools, AI Assistant harnesses the power of Forward Networks’ digital twin technology, ensuring validations and accurate, trusted responses in complex IT environments. The integration of AI Assistant simplifies data access through natural language queries, accelerating tasks for IT professionals and paving the way towards autonomous, self-healing networks. Read more in this Gestalt IT article by Sulagna Saha.
Keeping GPUs Fed Around the Clock, With Solidigm
As discussed at AI Field Day, Solidigm’s storage system addresses the diverse and intense demands of AI workloads, ensuring GPUs remain constantly fed with data. Recognizing the variety in I/O patterns and the substantial data processing required for machine learning, Solidigm’s SSDs offer superior performance for sequential and random read/write activities, consuming less power and space in datacenters. Additionally, their Cloud Storage Acceleration Layer (CSAL) software enhances the durability and efficiency of SSDs by optimizing write patterns, making it an open-source boon for those seeking to streamline AI-based operations. Read more in this Gestalt IT article by Sulagna Saha.
No-Code Machine Learning With Qlik AutoML
At AI Field Day, Qlik launched AutoML, a revolutionary no-code machine learning capability within Qlik Cloud, empowering enterprises to harness predictive analytics without the barriers of cost or lack of expertise. This innovative feature allows organizations to effortlessly integrate algorithmic prediction into their workflows, enabling data-driven decision-making across various departments from sales to finance. AutoML stands out as a tool that simplifies machine learning, offering a straightforward approach where users can develop models and analyze future trends with just a few clicks, transforming complex data science into actionable insights. Read more in this article by Sulagna Saha from Gestalt IT.
Everyday Networking With Aviz Networks’ New Smart Assistant, Network Copilot
Aviz Networks unveiled its Network Copilot Smart Assistant at Networking Field Day, a groundbreaking solution designed to redefine AI-enhanced networking by going beyond just data analytics to deep, seamless integration with existing network infrastructure. This Smart Assistant stands out with its ability to ingest and process vast network data across any environment, leveraging pre-trained open-source language models for robust, personalized network optimization. Aviz Networks’ Network Copilot is poised to transform everyday network operations, offering capabilities like compliance analysis, capacity planning, and advanced troubleshooting through an intelligent, vendor-neutral platform that simplifies and accelerates network management. Learn more in this article from Gestalt IT.
Nature Fresh Farms – Optimizing Indoor Farming Practices With AI and Intel
At AI Field Day, Nature Fresh Farms, a leader in greenhouse farming in North America, revealed how the strategic use of Intel AI solutions revolutionized their farming practices towards precision agriculture. Keith Bradley highlighted the transition from traditional to high-tech farming, with on-premises Intel-based infrastructure enabling real-time data analytics for improved yield, resource efficiency, and operational control. Emphasizing sustainability and the growing importance of AI in agriculture, Bradley shared how Nature Fresh Farms harnesses predictive AI models on the farm, leveraging technology to optimize every aspect from irrigation to packaging and contributing to a marked increase in yield per square meter annually. Read more in this Gestalt IT article by Sulagna Saha.
Deploying AI Cost-Effectively at Scale With Kamiwaza
At AI Field Day, Kamiwaza introduced their open-source stack, designed to enable GenAI to scale elastically, addressing the common hurdles of infrastructure cost and operational scale faced by enterprises. With a vision to empower businesses to achieve a trillion inferences a day and ignite the 5th industrial revolution, Kamiwaza’s stack facilitates AI deployment across various environments, from cloud to edge, guaranteeing security and manageability of dispersed data. The stack’s compatibility with Intel CPUs ensures that enterprises can harness efficient AI inferencing power with minimal energy consumption, making sophisticated AI accessible and sustainable for organizations of all sizes. Read more in this Gestalt IT article by Sulagna Saha.
Google Cloud, the Preferred Platform for Building Competitive AI Models
At AI Field Day, Google Cloud’s Brandon Royal showcased the giant’s comprehensive strategy for meeting today’s burgeoning AI demands, leveraging one of the industry’s most extensive digital infrastructures. Emphasizing the significance of AI infrastructure in conjunction with generative AI (GenAI), Google Cloud highlighted their commitment to innovation, asserting their platform as the superhighway for AI-forward companies. With Google Cloud providing robust compute power off its own infrastructure, businesses can harness AI’s opportunities without the traditionally high entry barriers of infrastructure costs and expertise. Read more in this article by Sulagna Saha for Gestalt IT.
Intel Xeon CPUs on VMware vSphere – A Powerful and Cost-Effective Twosome for AI/ML Workloads
With AI ingrained in our daily routines, Forward Networks delivered a strategic approach at Networking Field Day, demonstrating how even complex networking data can be made manageable through AI integration. Their platform uses a data-first principle, enabling AI to interact effectively with a digital twin of network infrastructure, simplifying tasks for network engineers. The innovative AI Assistant within Forward Networks’ ecosystem assists in constructing queries for the Network Query Engine, fostering trust through verifiable, human-readable outputs, and providing a gateway for more intuitive network management. Read more in this article by Sulagna Saha on Gestalt IT.
Taking on AI Inferencing With 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
Intel’s 5th Generation Xeon Scalable Processor, known as Emerald Rapids, offers an advantageous solution for AI inferencing, providing a compelling alternative to GPUs in certain applications. Highlighted during the AI Field Day event, Intel showcased the processor’s suitability for general-purpose AI workloads, especially for private AI deployments requiring lower latency and mixed workloads. In his presentation, Ro Shah illustrated that Xeon CPUs are well-equipped to handle AI models with fewer than 20 billion parameters, making them a cost-effective and efficient choice for many enterprises. Read more in this article from Gestalt IT.
Replacing Human-Driven Automation With One That Is Event-Driven, With Cisco
In a move to enhance network management efficiency, Cisco is replacing the existing human-driven automation with an innovative event-driven approach. Network controllers centralize operations by maintaining an inventory of network states, and event-driven automation streamlines this further by automating responses to network changes, reducing manual intervention and speeding up the resolution process. Cisco’s event-driven solutions were explored in detail at Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live EMEA 2024, promising elevated operational capabilities with a focus on observability and swift auto-configuration. Read more in this article from Gestalt IT.
Policy Management Gets Easier With Cisco AI Assistant
Cisco’s AI Assistant, unveiled at Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live EMEA 2024, promises to revolutionize policy management within Secure Access, offering swift and reliable creation and enforcement of security policies. Emphasizing simplicity and risk reduction, the AI tool handles English language prompts to generate comprehensive policies, demonstrating its capability to securely augment and automate IT administrator tasks. Showcasing AI’s monitoring role, Cisco Secure Access also ensures protected use of AI tools within organizations, preventing sensitive data breaches and incorporating intelligent user access control.
Doubling Down on Network Observability With IP Fabric and NetBox Labs
At Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live EMEA 2024, IP Fabric revealed a collaboration with NetBox Labs, emphasizing a strengthened focus on Network Observability through their Automated Network Assurance Platform and a versatile NetBox plugin. This strategic alliance addresses the complexities of visualizing and managing multifaceted network environments by merging extensive visibility with dynamic topology modeling. IP Fabric’s innovative approach promises improved data accuracy and operability across network architectures, aligning observed network states with intent-based configurations to support efficient and reliable network operations.
Dell Makes Storage Multi-Cloud by Design With APEX Block Storage for Public Cloud
Dell Technologies presented their APEX Block Storage for Public Cloud at Cloud Field Day, offering a unique software-defined storage solution that bridges on-premises infrastructure and public cloud services. By advocating for reduced total cost of ownership and high performance, this solution aims to seamlessly integrate the operational experience of local storage with the flexibility and resilience of cloud storage. Proclaiming an “up to 87% cost-savings and 100 times better performance” compared to native public cloud offerings, Dell APEX Block Storage emerges as a strategic option for enterprises looking to balance cost, complexity, and performance across their hybrid multi-cloud environments.
Accelerating Big Data Analytics With NeuroBlade SPU
In a data-driven world where every second counts, NeuroBlade’s SQL Processing Unit (SPU) is revolutionizing big data analytics with its ability to accelerate high-throughput workloads, as Sulagna Saha writes, covering their Cloud Field Day presentation. With organizations in a race to transform data into actionable insights, the NeuroBlade SPU offers a competitive edge with its 10-fold speed increase over GPUs and seamless integration into current tech ecosystems. This breakthrough addresses the pressing demand for faster time-to-insight, ensuring businesses can harness real-time intelligence at sustainable costs, thereby marking a significant leap in analytics processing power.
Extending the Benefits of Public Cloud Into the Enterprise With SoftIron’s HyperCloud V2.0
At the intersection of cloud convenience and data privacy, SoftIron’s HyperCloud v2.0 emerges as a compelling on-prem infrastructure solution, adapting public cloud ease to private datacenters, as dissected in Sulagna Saha’s latest article based on their Cloud Field Day presentation. As the cloud industry burgeons towards a projected $1 trillion valuation, HyperCloud’s integration of complex cloud-native features simplifies the return to private datacenters without sacrificing agility or scalability. For enterprises hesitant to commit to full public cloud services due to data control and cost, this blend of minimal infrastructure burden and accelerated outcomes offers a secure and adaptable alternative. Read the full article for an in-depth understanding of SoftIron’s innovation in private cloud technology.
Achieving Operational Excellence in Hybrid Multi-Cloud With the Dell APEX Cloud Platform Family
In this article, Sulagna Saha reviews the Dell APEX Cloud Platforms, a solution engineered to expand and improve the multi-cloud experience. The APEX Cloud Platform family provides a complete set of solutions to help operate effortlessly in the dispersed world of hybrid multi-cloud. The platform aims to unify cloud and on-premise environments, ensuring operational consistency and efficiency, co-engineered in collaboration with trusted partners like Microsoft, Red Hat, and VMware. The platform promises to streamline the adoption of multi-cloud operations, integrating storage, computing, and familiar management tools within a scalable architecture, bolstered by Dell’s commitment to continuous innovation and security. To delve deeper into the operational excellence enabled by Dell’s APEX Cloud Platform family, read this review by Sulagna Saha or watch their videos from Cloud Field Day!
Qumran3D, Broadcom’s New Single-Chip 25.6T Router for Cloud to Core Applications
In this article, Sulagna Saha reviews the new Qumran3D, a single-chip router from Broadcom that combines the power and functions of multiple routing solutions into one device. Designed to address key needs for bandwidth, low power consumption, and security, Qumran3D stands out with its 25.6 Tb/s capacity, integrated design, and enhanced security features like on-chip encryption. With its revolutionary single-chip architecture, Qumran3D promises to significantly reduce energy consumption and physical space requirements, positioning itself as a pivotal hardware innovation for core to cloud applications. Read about it at Gestalt IT or watch Broadcom’s presentation of Qumran3D from our recent Cloud Field Day event.
Auto-Optimizing EKS Utilization With New Elastic Machine Pool From Platform9
Platform9’s Elastic Machine Pool (EMP) is an innovative response to the costly challenges of over-provisioning in the cloud, introduced at the Cloud Field Day event to enhance EKS deployment efficiency. EMP expertly tackles the pervasive issue of low utilization rates in Kubernetes environments, promising to virtually halve EKS costs while maintaining application SLAs by optimizing EKS cluster utilization via an intelligent, hands-off approach. Platform9’s solution signifies a major step towards cost-effective cloud management, ensuring resource optimization without compromising on performance, with aspirations to extend this savvy tool beyond AWS EKS, offering broad appeal to enterprises looking to streamline their cloud operations.
Next-Level Client Wi-Fi Visibility With Cisco’s Three-Way Partnership
Cisco is elevating enterprise Wi-Fi monitoring and optimization through a data-centric approach, as discussed by Minse Kim at Mobility Field Day. Their strategic partnerships with leading device vendors, prominently including Samsung, Intel, and Apple, allow unprecedented access to extended device data, fostering better Wi-Fi experiences for the end user. By harnessing rich analytics from millions of devices in the Meraki Cloud, this collaboration is redefining troubleshooting and operational efficiency in Wi-Fi networks. Read about it at Gestalt IT or watch Cisco’s presentation from the Mobility Field Day event here at the website.
Catalyst Gets a Meraki Makeover With the Catalyst 9300-M Switch Series
Cisco’s Catalyst 9300 series switches have been given a “Meraki makeover,” offering the robust performance of Catalyst with the seamless, intuitive user experience of Meraki, right from Day 0. This hybrid approach promises to simplify network management for customers familiar with Catalyst’s reliability but eager for Meraki’s agile management and cloud integration, as demonstrated during Cisco’s recent Networking Field Day event. Catalyst Meraki 9300 series, touted for its adaptability and security features like Adaptive Policy, bridges hardware legacy and modern cloud management, streamlining operations for the most demanding network environments. Read the article at Gestalt IT, or watch the presentation from the Networking Field Day event here on the website.
