Cisco Boosts Workload Security with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs

Cisco Unveils Enhanced Secure Workload Solution with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs Integration

In a notable advancement in cybersecurity, Cisco has released the latest version of its Secure Workload solution, now integrated with NVIDIA’s BlueField-3 Data Processing Units (DPUs). This collaboration aims to significantly enhance workload security and operational efficiency in response to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, as detailed in the NVIDIA Technical Blog.

Key Features of Cisco Secure Workload

Cisco Secure Workload is designed to safeguard application workloads across diverse infrastructures. The solution provides unmatched visibility into workload interactions and leverages AI to automate intricate tasks. Key features include:

1. Microsegmentation: This isolates workloads and restricts lateral movement within the network, effectively minimizing the attack surface.
2. Workload Encryption: Ensures data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, protecting sensitive information.
3. Threat Detection and Prevention: Utilizes advanced mechanisms to identify and counteract malicious activities in real-time.
4. Automated Incident Response: Automates response procedures to swiftly contain and remediate threats.

Integration with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs

The integration with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs enhances security and efficiency by offloading security-critical tasks from virtual machines (VMs) to the DPUs. This offloading frees up CPU resources for core application processing and improves overall system performance.

Key features of the BlueField-3 DPUs include:

1. Hardware Acceleration and Offloading: Dedicated accelerators for encryption, decryption, and data compression enhance performance by offloading these tasks from the CPU.
2. Enhanced Scalability: Hardware offloading capabilities allow for more VMs without sacrificing performance.
3. Fortified Security: Provides isolation between the network and VMs, preventing unauthorized access and complementing Cisco Secure Workload’s software-based protections.
4. Streamlined Workload Enforcement: Offloads security tasks to the DPU, enforcing security policies more efficiently.
5. Reduced Latency: Offloading security functions to the BlueField-3 reduces latency, improving application response times.
6. Simplified Operations: Centralized management of security policies reduces the complexity of security management.

BlueField Technical Advantage

The BlueField DPUs significantly boost the efficiency of Cisco Secure Workload by monitoring network traffic and offering actionable intelligence to preempt threats. With 16 Arm A78 cores, BlueField DPUs optimize high-performance packet processing applications, offloading compute- and data-intensive tasks from the CPU.

Additional benefits include:

• NVIDIA Accelerated Switching and Packet Processing (ASAP2) and NVIDIA DOCA: These enhance scalability and CPU efficiency. Offloading communication and Open vSwitch (OVS) processing to the BlueField DPU simplifies security management and improves overall system performance.
• Access Control Lists (ACLs) Processing: Handling ACLs processing frees the CPU for other tasks, enhancing system performance.
• Hardware Acceleration of Encryption and Decryption: Ensures data confidentiality without significantly impacting network performance.

Summary

The integration of Cisco Secure Workload with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs marks a significant leap forward in security and operational efficiency. This combination of hardware and software innovation offers robust protection without compromising performance, paving the way for a more secure and agile future for businesses of all sizes. The advanced capabilities provided by this integration highlight Cisco’s and NVIDIA’s commitment to addressing the evolving challenges of cybersecurity.