Cisco Switches Redefines Data Centers: What Does This Mean?

Published on: February 14, 2025 | 5 minute read | by Krisa Cortez

You’ve streamed your favorite show online before. If you have a business, you might have used a virtual assistant. What powers these experiences behind the scenes? The answer is data centers, massive hubs of computing power that are the unsung heroes of the digital age, quietly working to keep everything running smoothly in the background of our digital lives. But as we use more and more AI, these data centers are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manage. It's like trying to build a bigger and better engine while simultaneously flying the plane. That's where Cisco Switches come in, with their newest family of data center Smart Switches, announced just this February 11, able to make the data centers that handle our daily affairs simpler, more efficient, and more secure. Think of it like a Swiss Army knife, or your smartphone that’s already a combination of multiple functions into one device, replacing the need for separate cameras, music players, and other gadgets. These switches do the same for data centers, integrating networking and security services into a single, streamlined solution.

Key Benefits of the Latest Cisco Switches

Cisco Smart Switches offer several key benefits. The simplest of this being streamlining separate data center processes into one. But to elaborate, these new Cisco Switches have:

Enhanced Security and Threat Protection

The new Cisco switch is integrated with the Cisco Hypershield. This is an AI-native security architecture that simplifies security enforcement and reduces the complexity of watching over your data by embedding the security directly into the very system itself.

Improved Efficiency and Scale

Cisco Smart Switches offer a simpler, more efficient, and extensible architecture network that combines Cisco data center networking, Silicon One, and AMD Pensando™ data processing units (DPUs) that are way easier to scale services and adapt when needed without additional hardware purchases.

Easier Operations and Management

This simplified approach to infrastructure design, building, and deployment is said to be able to address modern data center requirements that traditional upgrades do not address. Imagine one Cisco switch doing everything at once. Cisco's new architecture network can compute, provide extra storage and security in novel ways. It can hence be automated with predictive operations or an AI for network security and monitoring to simplify management.

Important Takeaways

These Cisco Data Centers will now become the epitome of simplicity which makes them easier to handle. They offer efficiency since, by combining multiple functions into one, these Cisco Switches save energy and space, reducing the environmental impact of data centers. Security is heightened due to Cisco Hypershield providing these switches with advanced protection against cyber threats. Your data and online activities remain safer. The first available Cisco N9300 Smart Switch featuring 24 100G ports is targeted for shipment in spring 2025. A top-of-rack model with 48 25G ports, two 100G ports, and six 400G ports is expected to be available in summer 2025. We can’t wait to see what they are capable of! For now, here’s our own recommendation of switches and servers for the budget-conscious.

You Ask and We Answer

What is the main advantage of using Cisco Smart Switches over traditional switches?
The new Cisco Smart Switches is a powerhouse that combines many robust features in one. This reduces the complexity needing to be handled when it comes to data centers while improving security. Traditional switches just focus solely on connectivity meanwhile and will need the latter features covered separately.
Do Cisco Smart Switches require additional licensing fees?
The Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switch requires the applicable Cisco Hypershield licenses to enable network security services on the DPUs.
What are the key use cases for Cisco Smart Switches?
We have secure cloud edge, data center interconnect, and zone-based segmentation. All this contributes to enhancing security and performance across very hybrid environments.
How do Cisco Smart Switches support my company’s sustainability initiatives?
Starting with the most obvious and that’s by reducing power consumption and rack space. Cisco Smart Switches enable customers to save on energy and infrastructure. This makes them more sustainable in the long run.
Can I purchase Cisco Smart Switches without the Hypershield subscription?
Yes. Cisco Smart Switches can be purchased without the Hypershield. But take note that the DPUs remain powered down until Hypershield services are activated. This makes it super flexible to deploy.