Simplify Hyperconverged Operations: The Unmatched Advantage of Cisco with Nutanix

The combined impact of cloud-based infrastructure operations from Cisco and Nutanix sets a new standard for operational simplicity, visibility, and control for distributed hyperconverged clusters.

The landscape of modern IT demands infrastructure that is not just powerful, but effortlessly manageable. When you choose Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix, you get a transformative new level of operational simplicity, visibility, and control for your distributed hyperconverged clusters. This is achieved through a unique and deeply integrated partnership that combines the SaaS power of Cisco Intersight^® with Nutanix Prism Central.

Together, Cisco and Nutanix have jointly developed an integrated solution that enables their cloud management platforms to work seamlessly together, creating true synergy rather than simple compatibility. Cisco Intersight is a cloud-based operations platform that enables your IT team to see, control, and automate your Cisco UCS^® and hyperconverged (HCI) infrastructure anytime and anywhere, from one place. This includes HCI with Cisco^® rack servers and modular servers for data-center and edge environments. Intersight deployment options also include an on-premises virtual appliance and a private (air-gapped) virtual appliance, ensuring flexibility for any environment.

As Ketan Shah, VP of Product Management at Nutanix, aptly states, “Through Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix, Cisco and Nutanix have for the first time integrated our software management planes together to deliver a new, integrated HCI architecture for customers. This is an important milestone in our global strategic partnership as we work together to simplify hybrid multicloud and fuel business transformations for our customers.”[1]

This unparalleled integration defines every aspect of the solution, from initial deployment to day-to-day operations and long-term scaling.

Zero-touch deployment and flexible onboarding

With intelligent orchestration between Cisco Intersight and Nutanix Prism Central, organizations can achieve true zero-touch deployment of Nutanix clusters. Cisco Intersight automates complex workflows, eliminating the need for skilled IT staff at remote or edge locations. Once the server is racked and connected to the network, the deployment process—including bare-metal firmware and operating system installation—is fully automated. Cisco Intersight manages the physical infrastructure, while Nutanix Prism Central orchestrates the Nutanix cluster deployment using Cisco Intersight policies. This bidirectional intelligence allows for fast, accurate, and repeatable Cisco hyperconverged cluster deployments globally, including air-gapped and high-security environments through dedicated Cisco dark site bundles available for Cisco Intersight Device Connector for Nutanix Prism Central. Learn more in the Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix IMM and ISM Field Guides.

Automated lifecycle management and unmatched scalability

The Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix solution features fully integrated lifecycle management, allowing end-to-end cluster software and firmware upgrades directly through Nutanix Prism or Prism Central Life Cycle Management (LCM). This includes upgrading Cisco UCS infrastructure and server firmware, hypervisor software (VMware ESXi and/or Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor [AHV]), and Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) software.

The solution also simplifies scaling by automating cluster expansion across Cisco UCS and Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure, driven from Nutanix Prism or Nutanix Prism Central. This includes identifying new Cisco UCS servers, creating server profiles for new nodes, performing hypervisor imaging, deploying Nutanix controller VMs on new servers, and joining these nodes to an existing cluster.

This deep integration accommodates up to 25 clusters, 200 nodes, and 1000 virtual machines. To scale beyond these limits (25 clusters, 200 nodes, and 1000 VMs), you'll need to resize Prism Central and Device Connector. This can be accomplished by contacting Nutanix support for assistance.[2]

Intersight provides visibility into Nutanix clusters, providing real-time health status and alarms along with Nutanix licensing status, hypervisor type, AOS version, node count, and more.

Simplified operations and proactive support

Cisco Intersight simplifies operations and maintenance of HCI infrastructure in several ways, including:

●     Connected TAC: Cisco Intersight integrates with the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (Cisco TAC) to provide proactive support. It automatically opens Cisco TAC cases for certain faults, attaches log files, and analyzes them for known issues—also sharing case notes with Nutanix—speeding up case resolution and increasing system uptime.

●     eBonding: Used for seamless collaboration between Cisco and Nutanix support teams to ensure that cases are routed to the appropriate team based on the issue, this process preserves a single view of case interactions. Cisco is the only infrastructure vendor with the backend connectivity to Nutanix to enable case sharing and collaboration to get your issues resolved quickly.

●     Proactive RMA: For specific hardware failures, Cisco Intersight can automatically open Return Materials Authorization (RMA) cases, allowing for the replacement of components before nodes fail, thus minimizing downtime. Cisco Compute Hyperconverged integration with Nutanix Pulse and Nutanix Insights also provides advanced detection of potential hardware failures.

●     Security advisories: Users receive important security advisory alerts and field notices for impacted Intersight-connected devices, helping to stay ahead of potential security threats and ensuring continuous risk mitigation.

Get a complete, real-time view of your Nutanix clusters – including VM types, power states, OS, and cluster health with alarms – for faster troubleshooting and optimized resource planning.

Unified visibility and control: the power of the Cisco Intersight Device Connector

The Cisco Device Connector (available on the Nutanix Prism Central Marketplace) is the cornerstone of this unique integration. It creates a bidirectional, secure communication channel between Intersight and Prism Central, enabling both platforms to provide comprehensive observability and monitoring features.

Gain comprehensive visibility into both physical and virtual GPU inventory across all nodes in your Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix clusters, enabling optimal resource utilization.

From Cisco Intersight, you can:

●     Use a single dashboard to visualize and monitor Cisco Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) running Nutanix software, including multiple instances of Nutanix Prism Central

●     See a detailed view of Cisco HCI Nutanix clusters and nodes

●     View storage utilization

●     Gain comprehensive insights into your virtualized environment, including Virtual-Machine (VM) listing, inventory, information placement, type, alarms, and status

●     Access detailed GPU inventory, encompassing both physical and virtual GPUs, for all nodes within your Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix clusters

●     View cluster-level alarm aggregation and acknowledge alarms

●     See Nutanix license entitlement, compliance status, and any violations

●     Automatically update the Cisco Device Connector for Intersight SaaS and virtual appliance deployments

What’s more, only Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix delivers this unparalleled level of increased visibility and control across distributed hyperconverged clusters. It does this through the tight, native integration of Cisco’s and Nutanix’s operational platforms, Cisco Intersight and Nutanix Prism Central.

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Learn more about Cisco Intersight, request a demo, or start a free trial to see it in action. Or visit our website to learn more about Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix.