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.
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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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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