In this Networking Field Day article, Sulagna Saha discusses Aviz Networks new Network Copilot Smart Assistant. It was expected that at this Networking Field Day event, the audience will be treated to several such products. One solution, however, stood out, not just because of the word “GenAI”, but for the ahead of the curve thinking. Aviz Networks recently launched a new solution called Network Copilot which they showcased at the event. It is the crowning piece of Aviz Networks’ Networking 3.0 stack.

Everyone uses AI today, whether they know it or not, and it’s critical for users of this technology to understand its capability and limitations. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Chris Grundemann, a fellow podcast host and Tech Field Day delegate, talking the many ways we use AI every day. Like Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett, Chris uses AI to assist with content creation in many ways, from summarization and organization of data to image generation. Content creators are using AI tools like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, and more to process data, but we all agree that it’s best to spend time and effort to refine the output, especially when it comes to tone and voice. We are also using AI based tools for coding and structuring data, especially interactively. Although some have suggested that AI will replace content creators or coders, the technology is instead democratizing access and making it easier to use on a daily basis. It also makes computing more available to those who were previously locked out, expanding the impact of the technology we have spent decades creating.

Hammerspace unveiled a new storage architecture called Hyperscale NAS that addresses the needs of AI and GPU computing. This episode of the On-Premise IT podcast, sponsored by Hammerspace, is focused on the extreme requirements of high-performance multi-node computing. Eric Bassier of Hammerspace joins Chris Grundemann, Frederic Van Haren, and Stephen Foskett to consider the characteristics that define this new storage architecture. Hammerspace leverages parallel NFS and flexible file layout (FlexFiles) within the NFS protocol to deliver unprecedented scalability and performance. AI training requires scalability, performance, and low latency but also flexible and robust data management, which makes Hyperscale NAS extremely attractive. Now that the Linux kernel includes NFS v4.2, the Hammerspace Hyperscale NAS system works out of the box with standards-based clients rather than requiring a proprietary client. Hammerspace is currently deployed in massive hyperscale datacenters and is used in some of the largest AI training scenarios.

In this AI Field Day article, Sulagna gives a “fresh” perspective on AI, discussing how Keith Bradley and Nature Fresh Farms use Intel’s AI solutions to optimize their greenhouse. Established in Leamington, Ontario in 1999, Nature Fresh Farms is one of the largest greenhouse farms in North America. The farm sprawls over 250 acres of land. Organic peppers, berries, tomatoes and cucumbers grow in rows in the controlled environment of enormous hothouses. Keith Bradley, VP of IT and Security for Nature Fresh Farms, gave a presentation at the recent AI Field Day event, revealing the behind-the-scenes workings. NFF’s computerized plant lifecycle management is based off of a private, Intel-based infrastructure.

In this AI Field Day article, Sulagna Saha discusses how Kamiwaza AI is deploying cost effective AI at scale. Kamiwaza introduced an open-source stack designed to get GenAI to scale elastically. The Kamiwaza stack lets companies deploy AI anywhere, from cloud to core to the edge, efficiently, and without incurring unfeasible costs.

When it comes to AI, Google is talking big game. With one eye set on the Gen AI play, Google has its other eye fixed on AI infrastructure. For what it’s worth, Google Cloud owns one of the biggest digital infrastructures in the industry that it has perfected for years, cramming in new features, and expanding the scope and scale. Customers are confident about the platform’s capabilities and offerings. Now in the age of AI, it is the superhighway of innovation. In this AI Field Day article, Sulagna Saha discusses how Google Cloud is positioning themselves as the preferred platform to build competitive AI models.

CPUs certainly make a sustainable choice of hardware for less demanding AI use cases, when the goal is cost and energy optimization. Specifically using Intel Xeon Scalable processors for AI/ML workloads not only allows enterprises to rest their desperate hunt for GPUs, but supplement pricey specialized hardware with something that is infinitely more economical and adequately performant.

Digital twins have been on the up and up the last few years, and it is fast becoming the standard for predictive maintenance in networking. In this Gestalt IT Interview, Tom Hollingsworth, and Nikhil Handigol of Forward Networks, gets into the nuts and bolts of the technology. Forward Networks’ flagship platform is powered by the same digital twin technology that provides unobstructed network visibility and continuous monitoring. Learn how Forward Networks’ solution produces a computerized mathematically accurate twin of the network to achieve these.

In this AI Field Day article, Sulagna Saha discusses AI Inferencing with Intel’s 5th generation Xeon Scalable Processor. As artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous with more companies incorporating AI workloads, a gap has opened up dividing enterprises engaged in big-money projects from the smaller guys that are dabbling in general-purpose AI. Intel has cleverly tapped into this, bringing to a class of underserved customers a product that meets them in the middle, and affords them the chance to stay competitive. Xeon neither takes big spending power, nor comes with long wait-lists. Instead, it alleviates the anxiety around scarce access to GPUs by showing that AI can be kicked off perfectly with less powerful hardware.

In this Cisco Live EMEA article, Sulagna Saha discusses Cisco is replacing human-driven automation with an event-driven version. In networking, there is a lot of chatter about troubleshooting and user experience, but boring bits like configuration and observability that are pivotal to delivering elevated user experience are often sidetracked. At Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live EMEA 2024, Cisco presented a gamechanger approach known as event-driven automation. Event-driven automation makes a compelling business case by simply taking the manual effort out of network automation and replacing it with predefined automated response.