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Transforming the Data Center

Cisco and NetApp deliver superior unified data center technologies. (1:19 min)

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Transforming the Data Center

The Cisco and NetApp partnership extends back to 2003. Together, the two companies are developing solutions that deliver the value and performance that meet customer IT requirements for next-generation virtual data centers.

Cisco and NetApp provide:

  • A unified approach to a virtualized data center
  • IT efficiency at computing, network, and storage layers
  • An end-to-end, unified, virtual data center architecture
  • Data center unification and I/O consolidation
  • Best practices for 10 Gb Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) solutions

NetApp is currently a Cisco Original Storage Manufacturer (OSM), with rights to distribute both the Cisco MDS and Cisco Nexus data center switches.

NetApp is a primary partner contributing to Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solutions and the Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI).

Cisco VXI delivers a virtualized collaborative workspace through a comprehensive end-to-end infrastructure that spans from endpoints to the data center.

With NetApp systems, NetApp MultiStore, Cisco Nexus products, and VMware, T-Systems' Dynamic Services data centers are able to provide shared, yet secure clouds of server, network, and storage resources.
Klaus Rubik
Head of Engineering and Systems Management, T-Systems

FlexPod for VMware is a predesigned, base configuration built on Cisco Unified Computing System, Cisco Nexus, and NetApp storage components with VMware vSphere and vCenter.

FlexPod is a baseline configuration that can scale up for greater performance and capacity or scale out for environments that need consistent, multiple deployments.

You can size and optimize FlexPod to accommodate different use cases, including application workloads such as:

  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Exchange 2010
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • VDI (VMware View)
  • Secure Multitenancy (SMT) environments

Solution Brief

Cisco Validated Design

Engage With a FlexPod Premium Partner

Enterprise and service provider customers face tremendous challenges when transitioning data center platforms to become more agile, cost effective, and secure to serve the needs of their business. By engaging with a FlexPod Premium Partner, you can receive the expertise and experience needed to meet your business objectives and get the most from your investment. Cisco and NetApp work together to validate that our FlexPod Premium Partners have met the highest certification standards from both companies, and communicate directly with each of these partners in our FlexPod Premium Partner advisory board.

Locate a FlexPod Premium Partner (PDF - 468 KB) Off Site
Learn more about FlexPod

Simplicity, Efficiency, and Scalability

Cisco and NetApp infrastructure solution helps small and midsize businesses

ExpressPod delivers benefits based on three main concepts:

Start right, with a low-cost, easy-to-deploy solution.
ExpressPod is tested and documented by Cisco and NetApp. It includes an implementation guide to facilitate integrating the solution with your existing data center environment. The implementation guide includes:

  • Detailed deployment instructions
  • Wiring diagrams
  • Bill of materials
  • High-level sizing guidance

Keep it simple, with the built-in system efficiencies of Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) servers, Cisco Nexus switching, and NetApp FAS storage.

With ExpressPod, fewer IT resources are needed to manage a pool of server, network, and storage systems in a virtualized infrastructure. This streamlined solution reduces the number of devices that need to be purchased, cabled, and powered.

Grow smart, with easy infrastructure scaling to keep up with business demands.

Protect your investment in equipment and training. The ExpressPod solution maintains a consistent operational environment as you grow. Scale up by adding components or scale out with a standardized platform to more easily predict budgets and growth.

For any questions related to ExpressPod, please contact your local partner account manager or field representative.

Learn More

Featured Content

50,000 Seat VDI Deployment on NetApp, Cisco, VMware Off Site (Video - 4:27 min)

Desktop Virtualization Solutions from Cisco, Citrix NetApp Off Site (Video - 7:12 min)

Storage accounts for up to 40 percent of the cost of a virtual desktop deployment. Cisco and NetApp have partnered with VMware and Citrix to architect and deliver cost-effective, high-performance desktop virtualization solutions based on:

  • Cisco Validated Designs (CVD)
  • Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI)

Our joint solutions deliver exceptional total cost of ownership by combining Cisco Unified Computing System and Unified Fabric innovations to help you:

  • Run more virtual desktops per server with fewer network and storage connections
  • Reduce storage capacity requirement up to 95 percent
  • Provision thousands of desktops in minutes
  • Eliminate I/O performance bottlenecks
  • Protect your data

Customer Wins

White Papers

Cisco Validated Designs

Multimedia

Through our long-standing collaboration with Cisco, we are enabling customers to tap deep into the power of their virtualized environment through a unified and scalable platform for a more efficient and streamlined experience.
- Tom Georgens
President and COO, NetApp

Application, server, network, and storage virtualization provides many advantages. Use virtualization to manage existing Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, Oracle and SAP environments and accelerate provisioning of new environments.

Cisco and NetApp solutions provide nonstop availability of critical business data and applications while automating business processes. Deploy new capabilities with confidence and get to revenue faster.

Solution Briefs

White Papers

Cisco Validated Designs

VMware's certification of Cisco networking with the NetApp Storage FCoE solution is significant for our customers who are demanding an end to the complexity and headaches associated with a myriad of cables, multiple interface cards, and switches.
- Bob Olwig
Vice President, World Wide

Get savings, flexibility, and modularity to meet any enterprise IT challenge by combining Cisco Unified Fabric with the NetApp Unified Storage Architecture.

NetApp offers the simplicity of one storage architecture that supports both file and block storage protocols. These include Gigabit (Gb) and 10GbE, NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and 4Gb and 8Gb Fibre Channel.

NetApp Unified Connect delivers data access using NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, and FCoE protocols concurrently over a shared network port using the NetApp unified target adapter.

The Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) can use FCoE to connect directly to NetApp storage systems, eliminating complexity with this high-bandwidth, multipurpose connection.

Customer Stories

White Papers

Multimedia

Articles

Sales Resources (2)

FlexPod Express VMWare vSphere Technical Report (PDF - 1 MB)

FlexPod Express with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Technical Report (PDF - 1 MB)