Training and running advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models requires more than just powerful graphics processing units (GPUs). Those GPUs do the heavy lifting, but feeding the ultra-powerful chips with data can become a bottleneck. A cluster of servers with tens of thousands of GPUs linked together requires some heavy-duty networking gear to make it all work.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the longtime leader in the switching and routing markets, with its proprietary products maintaining dominant market shares. Across the entire enterprise network infrastructure market, the company managed a 41% share in 2022, quadrupling that of its nearest competitor.

Cisco's model of bundling its proprietary hardware and software isn't appealing to everyone. A more flexible approach makes sense for the major cloud providers, which build data centers at incredible scale and have very specific networking needs.

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Source Fool.com