Unified Computing and Data Center Evolution

Data center virtualization has created a market transition where IT organizations are trying to reduce costs and increase flexibility. Constantly working against inflexible existing hardware platforms, however, data center administrators must spend significant time on manual procedures for basic tasks instead of focusing on more strategic initiatives.

The Cisco Unified Computing System is a next-generation data center platform that:

• Unites computing, networking, storage access, and virtualization into a cohesive system
• Integrates a low-latency, lossless 10 Gb Ethernet unified network fabric with enterprise-class, x86-architecture servers

This approach decouples scale from complexity. Whether the system has 1 server or 320 servers with thousands of virtual machines, all resources participate in a unified management domain designed to:

• Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) at the platform, site, and organizational levels
• Increase IT staff productivity and business agility through just-in-time provisioning and mobility support

The system incorporates:

• A standards-based unified network fabric supported by a partner ecosystem of industry leaders
• Cisco VN-Link virtualization support
• Cisco Extended Memory Technology

It supports an incremental deployment model and protects customer investments with a future migration path to unified computing.

The Cisco Unified Computing System is built from the following components:

• Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects is a family of line-rate, low-latency, lossless, 10-Gbps Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet interconnect switches.
• Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis supports up to eight blade servers and up to two fabric extenders in a 6 rack unit (RU) enclosure.
• Cisco UCS 2100 Series Fabric Extenders bring unified fabric into the blade-server chassis, providing up to four 10-Gbps connections each between blade servers and the fabric interconnect.
• Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers adapt to application demands, intelligently scale energy use, and offer best-in-class virtualization.
• Cisco UCS B-Series Network Adapters offer a range of options, including adapters optimized for virtualization, compatibility with existing driver stacks, or efficient, high-performance Ethernet.
• New! Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers extend the benefits of the Unified Computing System to a rack-mount form factor.
• New! Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters offer a choice of four types of PCI Express (PCIe) adapters.
• Cisco UCS Manager provides centralized management capabilities for the Cisco Unified Computing System.

Webcasts

• February 4, 2010: Unified Computing, The Journey (Registration required)
  TechWise TV explores unified computing and how Cisco, Intel, VMware, BMC, and Oracle play a vital role in revolutionizing the data center with the Cisco Unified Computing System.
• Unified Computing and Innovations in the Data Center (Registration required)
  Five-part series: Cisco, Intel, VMware, BMC, and Oracle discuss the journey to unified computing and innovations that are paving the way to a more efficient, simplified, and more manageable data center.
• TechWiseTV: Dawn of the New Data Center (Registration required)
  Explore how the new Cisco Unified Computing System solves your data center challenges by uniting network, compute, and virtualization resources into a single transparent system.
• Cisco UCS Technical Deep Dive Session
  Customer Case Studies
• Tutor Perini: Unified Computing Customer Story (Video 28:24 min.)
  Learn how "less really is more" when it comes to optimizing performance and reducing costs in the data center.
• Cisco UCS Supports New Cloud Service (PDF - 1.7 MB)
  Service provider transforms evidence management in law enforcement.

Recent News

• Industry Recognition
  Access the latest articles and awards for Cisco Unified Computing.
• Savvis and Cisco Deliver Private Clouds for the Enterprise
• Read Network World Article
• Analyst Opinions on Cisco Unified Computing System
• InfoWorld's Top 10 Emerging Enterprise Technologies Highlights Cisco UCS
• InfoWorld Test Center Review: Cisco UCS Wows

Video

• Data Center Vision: Evolve Your Business (Video - 4:23 min.)
• Cisco Unified Computing Overview (Video - 6:30 min.)
• Cisco Services

Data Center Partners

• Partner Ecosystem
• The Virtual Computing Environment coalition and Vblocks
• VCE Partner Resources (Login Required)