Build an Enterprise Data Center
Create a highly secure, flexible, virtualization-ready data center foundation. (PDF - 5.5 MB)
Survey the Data Center Foundation
Learn about Cisco Validated Designs for enterprise data centers. (PDF - 2 MB)
View SummaryCisco Validated Designs for data center networking provide best practices for addressing the challenges you may face as you grow your data center infrastructure. They will help you:
- Support rapid application growth
- Manage growing data storage requirements
- Optimize your investments in server-processing resources
- Access information reliably
- Secure critical data
- Control the cost of deploying a new data center
Cisco Validated Designs provide system designs based on common use cases or current engineering system priorities. They incorporate a broad set of technologies, features, and applications to address customer needs. Cisco engineers have comprehensively tested and documented each design to help ensure faster, more reliable, and fully predictable deployment.
These Cisco Validated Design guides describe the best practices for building an enterprise data center:
- Data Center Design Summary - August 2014 (PDF - 2.2 MB)
- Data Center Technology Design Guide - August 2014 (PDF - 5.5 MB)
- Server Room Technology Design Guide - August 2014 (PDF – 3.3 MB)
- Unified Computing System Technology Design Guide - August 2014 (PDF – 6.1 MB)
- Virtualization with Cisco UCS, Nexus 1000V, and VMware Technology Design Guide - August 2014 (PDF – 6.9 MB)
The Cisco Validated Design guides below have been superseded by newer guides. This archive is maintained as a convenient reference for organizations that have implemented the designs in these older guides. For new implementations, we strongly recommend that you use the most recent guides.
August 2013
- Data Center Technology Design Guide - August 2013 (PDF - 4.7 MB)
- Server Room Technology Design Guide - August 2013 (PDF - 2.8 MB)
- Unified Computing System Technology Design Guide - August 2013 (PDF - 6.9 MB)
- Virtualization with Cisco UCS, Nexus 1000V, and VMware Technology Design Guide - August 2013 (PDF - 5.8 MB)
Other Archived Design Guides
- Implementing Nexus 7000 in the Data Center Aggregation Layer with Services – October 2009
- Data Center Service Integration: Service Chassis Design Guide – September 2008
- Integrating the Virtual Switching System in Cisco Data Center Infrastructure – March 2009
- Data Center Service Patterns – March 2009