Dell unveils major AI Factory upgrades for smarter enterprise AI

Dell Technologies has announced a series of upgrades to its Dell AI Factory portfolio, aimed at streamlining artificial intelligence (AI) adoption for enterprise customers. The updates encompass infrastructure, automation, data management, professional services, and enhanced cooling and rack-scale management to address increasing demand for robust on-premises AI solutions.

AI deployment automation

The updated Dell Automation Platform is being integrated into the Dell AI Factory. This platform focuses on accelerating enterprise AI deployment by automating infrastructure delivery and configuration. It incorporates software-driven tools, such as an AI code assistant with Tabnine and an agentic AI platform with Cohere North. These integrations are intended to move AI workloads into production more efficiently and increase scalability. Dell Professional Services now offer turnkey interactive pilots, giving organisations the opportunity to validate AI use cases on real data and assess key ROI metrics before scaling investments.

Performance and data management

Dell has introduced updates to PowerScale and ObjectScale, its core storage engines within the Dell AI Data Platform. PowerScale will soon be licensed as software for deployment on select PowerEdge servers, offering enterprises and cloud providers more options for leveraging their own hardware. For data-intensive AI workflows, PowerScale brings support for parallel NFS with Flexible File Layout, designed to facilitate parallel distribution of data across multiple nodes. This change is targeted at improving throughput and scalability for demanding AI processes.

ObjectScale now includes AI-Optimised Search with S3 Tables and S3 Vector APIs. These APIs enable faster access to large and complex datasets directly on ObjectScale storage, addressing analytics-heavy workloads like inferencing and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). The aim is to help enterprises make decisions faster and manage rapidly expanding datasets more effectively.

Server advancements

New PowerEdge server models are being launched to support next-generation AI and high-performance computing (HPC) needs. The air-cooled PowerEdge XE9785 and liquid-cooled XE9785L are equipped with dual-socket AMD EPYC processors and eight AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs per node. They are designed for scalable compute and enhanced operational efficiency, integrating with AMD Pensando network cards and Dell's PowerSwitch AI fabric.

The updated PowerEdge R770AP, powered by Intel Xeon 6 P-core 6900-series processors, offers higher core counts, large caches, and CXL memory expansion for handling parallel processing and memory-intensive workloads, such as accelerated trading algorithms.

Networking enhancements

Dell has introduced PowerSwitch Z9964F-ON and Z9964FL-ON, switches leveraging Broadcom Tomahawk-6 chips to deliver up to 102.4 terabytes per second of switching capacity. These switches support large-scale, AI-driven data centres with both air and direct liquid cooling options, targeting environments with more than 100,000 accelerator chips. SmartFabric Manager now offers Dell AI Factory integration for automated infrastructure deployment as well as rack-scale integration with OpenManage Enterprise for comprehensive end-to-end visibility of GPU infrastructure.

PC and rack integration

Support for expanded silicon, including AMD Ryzen AI processors, has been added to Dell's AI PC range. This facilitates development of on-device AI applications and aims to streamline workflows for software engineers. In the data centre, Dell's Integrated Rack Scalable Solutions (IRSS) programme introduces updated management and rack solutions. OpenManage Enterprise now unifies control of servers, power, and cooling across up to 25,000 devices with automated leak detection. The Integrated Rack Controller and PowerCool Rack-mount Coolant Distribution Unit support continuous system performance by providing rapid response to cooling alerts and preventative maintenance.

Executive perspectives

"Enterprises tell us they want AI capabilities on their own infrastructure, but complexity has been the barrier. The Dell AI Factory removes that barrier with integrated automation and performance that let businesses deploy AI at scale and see real returns," said Arthur Lewis, President, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies.

"Enterprises are seeking AI infrastructure solutions that combine automation, scalability and performance to accelerate time-to-value while reducing complexity. The latest enhancements to the Dell AI Factory streamline deployment and deliver integrated tools with a secure foundation that helps organisations move from experimentation to production with confidence," said Scott Sinclair, Practise Director, Omdia.