Guest

Data Center Switching

Introduction

Building Next-Generation Data Centers

Resource virtualization is central to Cisco Data Center 3.0 because it reduces costs by increasing asset utilization, while improving business resilience, and responsiveness to business needs. These next-generation virtualized data centers needs a network infrastructure that delivers the full potential of technologies such as server virtualization and unified data center fabric, and supports broader architectural shifts such as unified computing system and cloud computing.

The Cisco data center switch portfolio gives you a granular, cost-effective path to upgrading the capacity of your data center network infrastructure while still maintaining consistent implementation, management, and operations:

  • Continuous operations: A combination of hardware redundancy and features such as in-service software upgrades and Smart Call Home helps maximize network availability.
  • Operational manageability: Integrated management tools simplify operations and accelerate problem resolution.
  • Transport flexibility: The broad portfolio of switches eases migration to new technologies.

The Data Center Transformed

The Cisco Unified Computing System unites network, compute, and virtualization resources into a single seamless system to reduce TCO and increase business agility.
Learn More

Featured Products

Free 60-Day Evaluation of Cisco Nexus 1000V

Accelerate server virtualization deployments and simplify management and operations.

Download Software (Requires Cisco.com login)
Learn More

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series

Unified fabric simplifies data center infrastructure and improves agility and resilience.

Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Switches

Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Switches

High-performance, extremely low-latency 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Data Center Ethernet (DCB), and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) blade switches for x-86 based blade servers.

As IT has become central to core business processes, data centers are taking a central role in the overall success of an organization. As always, a data center must excel at the traditional measures of operational excellence including system availability, asset utilization, security, and power/cooling efficiency.

But now, data centers must also support a new set of emerging extrinsic requirements, including business-to-business relationships, regulatory requirements, a global operating environment, and empowered users. And finally, data centers must be able to adapt quickly and effortlessly to inevitable change.

The Cisco Data Center Switching Portfolio is built on some common tenets:

  • Design flexibility: Modular, rack, and integrated blade switches are optimized for both Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet environments.
  • Industry-leading switching capabilities: Layer 2 and 3 functions can help build stable, secure, scalable data centers.
  • Investment protection: The adaptability of the Cisco Nexus and Catalyst families simplifies capacity and capability upgrades. For example, the Catalyst 4900M rack switch uses a semi-modular design for easy migration from Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The Cisco Nexus 7000 supports Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet today with a cost-effective migration path for 40 Gigabit Ethernet, 100 Gb Ethernet, and Unified Fabric.
  • Operational consistency: A consistent interface and tools simplify management, operations, and trouble resolution.
  • Virtualization: Cisco data center switches provide virtual machine mobility support, management, and operations tools for a virtualized environment. For example, the Nexus 1000V delivers VN-Link networking to enhance virtual machine portability. In support of a broader data center virtualization strategy, the Catalyst 6500 offers virtual switching system (VSS), and the Nexus 7000 offers hypervisor-like virtual switch capabilities.

Cisco Nexus Family

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches

Next-generation unified fabric switches meet the business, service, application, and operational requirements of tomorrow's data center.

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

Next-generation unified fabric rack switches can reduce the cost and complexity of the server access network.

Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Switches

High-performance, extremely low-latency 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Data Center Ethernet (DCB), and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) blade switches for x-86 based blade servers.

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders

This innovative platform eases migration from Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet through simplified management and reduced infrastructure costs.

Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches

Software switches deliver VN-Link virtual-machine-aware networking.

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches

With industry-leading services and performance, this is the most flexible Cisco switching solution.

Cisco Catalyst 6500 Virtual Switching System

Network virtualization improves data center performance and resilience.

Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches

These switches deliver optimized rack switching, and the Cisco 4900M switch provides a cost-effective migration path from Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

Cisco Blade Switches

Cisco Blade Server Switches (Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand) simplify data center operations and reduce time to deployment for new application infrastructures.

Cisco Unified Computing System

While the Cisco Unified Computing System is an integrated platform, it is architecturally consistent with the Cisco Nexus family and shares common features such as unified fabric, DCE, and FCoE.

Brochures


White Papers


Cisco Data Center Design and Planning Best Practices

  • Design Zone for Data Centers
    Learn how to develop a comprehensive, secure, and extensible data center network architecture by sharing validated Cisco best-practice designs.
  • Cisco Data Center Assurance Program
    Find out how to plan your own data center network implementation based on a comprehensive design that reflects extensive system-level testing.
Featured Content

Disaster Recovery Using Virtualization( PDF - 1.7 MB)
Six companies tested a multivendor disaster-recovery solution for SAP ERP environments.

Data Center of the Future
Learn more about how you can architect the data center of the future today using Cisco technology and best practices, and how Cisco is collaborating with other key data center technology providers.

Energy-Efficient Unified Fabrics
Discover how Nexus series Unified Fabric transforms data center infrastructure.

Virtual Machine-Aware Networking
Learn how VN-Link enhances virtual machine portability.

Cisco Nexus 5000 and VM Optimization
Learn about server virtualization features.



More Resources