Simplify Hyperconverged Operations: The Advantage of Cisco With Nutanix Solution Overview
Available Languages
Bias-Free Language
The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.
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.
When you choose Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix, you get a new level of operational simplicity that combines the SaaS power of Cisco Intersight® with Nutanix Prism Central.
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.
Together, Cisco and Nutanix leverage the unique Cisco UCS policy model in Intersight to define a best-practice deployment with an automated out-of-the-box server and network configuration. These policies ensure that the correct settings are always applied without human error or configuration drift over time.
“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,” said Ketan Shah, VP of Product Management at Nutanix. “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.”
Zero-touch deployment of Nutanix clusters using Cisco Intersight automates workflows, eliminating the need for skilled IT staff at edge locations. Once the server is racked and connected to the network, the deployment process, including bare-metal firmware and operating system installation, is automated. Cisco Intersight manages the physical infrastructure, while Nutanix Prism Central orchestrates the deployment using Cisco Intersight policies. This integration allows for fast, accurate, and repeatable deployments of hyperconverged clusters globally.
Automatic upgrades and easy scaling
The Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix solution includes fully integrated lifecycle management, allowing end-to-end cluster software and firmware upgrades 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 service profiles for new nodes, performing hypervisor imaging, deploying Nutanix controller VMs on new servers, and joining these nodes to an existing cluster.
Simplified operations and maintenance
Cisco Intersight simplifies operations and maintenance of HCI infrastructure in several ways, including:
● Connected Cisco 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 vendor with the connectivity to enable case sharing and collaboration to get your issues resolved quickly.
● Proactive RMAs: 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.
● Hardware Compatibility List (HCL): Intersight ensures that your hardware, software, and firmware stack are consistent with Cisco’s compatibility lists, helping to maintain compatibility and mitigate service issues.
● 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.
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.
What’s more, only Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix delivers increased visibility and control across distributed hyperconverged clusters. It does this through tight integration of Cisco’s and Nutanix’s operational platforms, Cisco Intersight and Nutanix Prism Central.
The Cisco Device Connector (available on the Nutanix Prism Central Marketplace) creates a bidirectional, secure communication channel between Intersight and Prism Central. This enables both platforms to provide observability and monitoring features.
From Cisco Intersight, you can:
● Use a single dashboard to monitor Cisco hyperconverged infrastructure running Nutanix software, including multiple instances of Nutanix Prism Central
● See a detailed view of the Cisco HCI Nutanix cluster and nodes
● View storage utilization
● 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
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.