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Cloud Ready Infrastructure (CRI) Smart Solutions Kits are a prescriptive, modular, and flexible portfolio of building blocks for designing and deploying Cisco's Unified Data Center Networking platform based on the Cisco Virtualized Multiservice Data Center (VMDC) architecture.
Cisco® Virtualized Multiservice Data Center (VMDC) architecture. is a validated reference architecture for both Cloud and traditional data center environments. The VMDC architecture shown in Figure 1 uses modular, flexible, validated designs in an integrated approach that adapts easily to address enterprise, service provider, or public sector needs. VMDC brings together the three components of the Unified Data Center: Unified Management, Unified Fabric, and Unified Computing. Cloud Ready Infrastructure Smart Solutions Kits focus on simplifying ordering and deploying the Unified Data Center Networking module of the architecture.
Figure 1 VMDC Reference Architecture
Cloud Ready Infrastructure Smart Solutions Kits are pre-defined and pre-validated baseline bill of materials (BOM) sized for different environments to enable functionality for the Unified Data Center Networking layer of VMDC. This layer provides secure separation and access to shared network services for the applications and workflow moving through the virtualized data center. The baseline is a suggested starting point of products and features that can be readily adapted to meet each business's unique needs.
Cloud Ready Infrastructure Smart Solutions Kits complement VMDC Cisco Validated Design (CVD) documentation. The CVDs detail validated architecture features and benefits, along with guidance on how to integrate and configure the products and technologies to provide the end-to-end system. The CRI Smart Solutions Kits provide product BOMs and licenses necessary to implement the system described in the CVDs.
In the future, Cloud Services Management kits will be made available to simplify the ordering and deploying the Cloud Services Management Layer. The kits will be based on Cisco Validated Designs, which pre-validate Cloud Ready Infrastructure with Cloud Service Management solutions such as Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud.
As shown in Figure 2, the CRI Smart Solutions Kit describes the baseline products for the core/aggregation layer and services layer of the VMDC reference architecture. These two layers, along with integrated compute, storage, and network systems (ICS) (compute + storage + networking) form the basic data center building blocks called Points of Delivery (POD). The POD serves as a blueprint for incremental build-out of the Cloud data center in a structured fashion. When resource utilization within a POD reaches a pre-determined threshold (i.e., 70-80%), the idea is that one simply deploys a new POD. From a service fulfillment and orchestration perspective, a POD represents a discrete resource management domain.
Figure 2 VMDC System Overview
The CRI kits are ideal for new and existing FlexPod, Vblock, and other integrated compute, storage, and networks stacks (ICS) systems. The CRI kits are easily integrated with these converged environments by connecting the northbound links of the ICS to CRI kit. Figure 3 shows how a typical ICS connects to the aggregation/access layer of the CRI kit.
The CRI kit extends the secure workload separation provided by the ICS throughout the rest of the data center network using VMDC network containers.
The ICS layer is described in detail in validated ICS systems such as the FlexPod1 and Vblock2 .
Figure 3 CRI and ICS
The Cloud Ready Infrastructure Smart Solutions Kits portfolio is the pre-defined, pre-validated baseline BOMs that follow the Virtualized Multiservice Reference Architecture.
Each kit defines the VMDC POD components and sized by the number of UCS chassis supported by each POD3 . The VMDC 2.x design guides recommend four 10GE links between each aggregation layer switch and the integrated compute, storage, and storage systems based on Cisco UCS (two links to each N5K of the ICS), based on a 4:1 network oversubscription, along with existing best practices described. From the UCS chassis perspective, eight 10G links, 4 to each Fabric Interconnect, exist.
The number of UCS chassis can be used to derive other use case-specific sizing metrics, such as the number of virtual machines. For example, assuming 250 VMs per chassis for mixed generic IaaS workloads, then the VM limits are 6000, 12000, and 16000 VMs, respectively.
These baseline bills of materials are intended to be a starting point and intended to be adapted to each customer's unique needs. Detailed scalability considerations are described in the VMDC 2.2 Design Guide and include factors such as tenant numbers, bandwidth counts, services throughput, nic/mac counts, VLAN counts, and vlan-port count.
Table 1 summarizes the CRI kits for VMDC 2.x. The kits are a list of product IDs that are available in pre-populated Cisco Commerce Workspace (CCW) templates. The table headings are used to identify the kits in this document (e.g., CRI-SO-M). These heading are not product IDs since the kits are not bundles that are orderable with a single SKU.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Aggregation Switch |
Nexus 7009 |
Nexus 7018 |
Network Services1 |
Catalyst 6500 DSN + ASA5555-X + ASA-SM + ACE30 |
Catalyst 6500 DSN + ASA5585-X + ASA-SM + ACE30 |
Number of UCS B-Series Chassis Supported |
48 |
64 |
1 Load Balancing is an essential function for many of the VMDC container models. Cisco ACE is listed as an example; however, every customer situation is unique, and a L4-L7 services strategy should be based on current needs as well as planning for the future as your network transitions to virtualization and cloud. |
Figure 4 Cloud Ready Network Infrastructure Smart Solutions Kits
Figure 4 depicts the products used in the CRI smart solutions kits. This is a simplified view and does not show the redundant pair. The details of each BOMs are included below. The product IDs (PIDs) and quantity of each product are provided.
The BOMs are shown using promotional bundles, as of 11/28/12. However, the recommended product PIDs and quantities are still valid if the promotion bundle has expired.
This kit is based on the Nexus 7009 as the aggregation node and the Data Center Services Node and appliances for network services.
The Nexus 7009 aggregation nodes are deployed in pairs as listed in Table 1. The Nexus 7000 scales up through additional line cards. Each Nexus 7009 has:
•Dual Sup2
•Dual M2 Series Line Cards
The Data Center Services Nodes are deployed in pairs as listed in Table 2. Each DSN has:
•Dual VS-Sup720
•Dual 6708 Line Cards
•ACE30 for load balancing
•ASA-SM for firewall
If price is an issue, then a single VS-Sup720 configuration can be used; however, system redundancy is reduced.
The DSN scales up through additional feature licenses on the service modules and by adding additional service modules. For example, the ASA-SM is specified below with 20 security context licenses, which supports up to 20 tenants. The ASA-SM can be scaled up to support 250 tenants by upgrading the virtual context licenses (e.g., ASA5500-SC-20).
A pair of ASA5555-X is the recommended starting point as listed in Table 3. If additional performance is required, then the ASA5585-X (with SSP20 or higher) should be considered. Choose different platforms or licensing based on services throughput, contexts, and features needed for deployment.
This kit is based on the Nexus 7018 as the aggregation node and the Data Center Services Node and appliances for network services.
The Nexus 7018 aggregation nodes are deployed in pairs as listed in Table 4. The Nexus 7000 scales up through additional line cards. Each Nexus 7018 has:
•Dual Sup2E
•Pair of M2 Series Line Card for southbound traffic
The Data Center Services Nodes are deployed in pairs as shown in Table 5. Each DSN has:
•Dual VS-Sup720
•Dual 6708 Line Cards
•Dual ACE30 for load balancing for additional performance
•Dual ASA-SM for firewall for additional performance
The DSN scales up through additional feature licenses on the service modules and by adding additional service modules. For example, the ASA-SM is specified below with 20 security context licenses, which support up to 20 tenants. The ASA-SM scales up to 250 tenants by upgrading the number of licenses.
Remote access VPN is only offered as an appliance because there is no DSN service module with this functionality. A pair of ASA5585-X (with SSP20) is the recommended starting point for additional performance as shown in Table 6. Choose different platforms or licensing based on services throughput, contexts and features needed for deployment.
The BOM listed above are available on the Cisco Commerce Workspace (CCW).
If you would like a copy of the BOMs shown in this document, which are in CCW, contact your Cisco or Partner sales team4 .
1. Cisco VMDC public website, http://www.cisco.com/go/vmdc
2. Cisco VMDC partner website http://www.cisco.com/go/vmdc (click on For Partners)5
3. Cisco Virtualized Multi-Tenant Data Center, Version 2.2, Design Guide, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/VMDC/2.2/design_guide/vmdcDesign22.html
4. Cisco Virtualized Multi-Tenant Data Center, Version 2.2, Implementation Guide, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/VMDC/2.2/implementation_guide/vmdcImplementationGuide22.html
5. Data Center Service Nodes, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/design_guide_c07-606204.html
6. ASA5000 VPN, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6032/ps6094/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402e39.html
7. Partner Bundles and Promotions, http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/incentives_and_promotions/index.html
Please email ask-vmdc-external@cisco.com with additional questions.
Author: Kevin Loo