So I have recently heard of a couple of instances where competitors have told our customers that, with the introduction of the Cisco Nexus, the Cisco Catalyst is dead and the customer should look at their next-gen switch instead. My initial reaction reaction to this was this was kind of cool: folks are not even trying to position against the Nexus and are instead going after the switching platform we released almost 10 years ago.That being said, let me be clear: the Cisco Catalyst 6500 has a long and productive life ahead of it. There are no plans to EoL the platform--quite the contrary, we will continue to invest and innovate on this platform. The Cisco Catalyst 6500 has been the poster child for investment protection and it will continue to offer our customers a cost-effective, granular migration path to leverage their existing investment while still integrating new technologies and features.Much like the introduction of the Cisco Nexus did not herald the end of the Cisco MDS, the same is true of the Cisco Catalyst. We have the resources and ability to continue to invest and innovate on all three platforms and we will continue to do so as long as our customers tell us its important to them.

It’s clear the growing power of Web 2.0 and online communities have in bringing transparency and feedback to what was once a fairly closed IT community, or at least one that required conferences (and late night beverages) for honest information sharing.Enter blogging, and other Web 2.0 mediums. For Cisco and its WAN optimization solutions (brand name WAAS), the result today from Network World’s community blog site was clear — customers are happy with Cisco’s WAAS solution, and the results are clear and representable.You can read them here: http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/28002 More so, I think this speaks to the current — and still growing — power of Web 2.0 communities, and the power to “tell it like it is”. I personally look forward to seeing where these communities will take all of us in the broad world of IT going forward.

I was chatting with a customer the other day who was struggling with some of the implications of “cloud computing”. The analogy that finally made sense to them is what I will call”cloud dining”. I am the cook in the house and I am tasked with feeding the family. If my 10-year old is lobbying for Italian, I am cook at home or order out. The decision may also vary from day to day. For instance, I might not have all the ingredients and have to order out, or, like this weekend, it may be 103 outside and cooking at home is not all that appealing.Now, the same can be said for supporting a given application in a cloud computing environment. Read More »

If you’re interested in storage and storage networking, EMC World is a show that’s not to be missed. This year will be no different. Cisco has several informative sessions and demonstrations planned including one on 8G Fibre Channel.Here’s a preview of our presence at EMC World starting tomorrow: Read More »

Rich Miller recently posted on using containers for data center disaster recovery and references the Cisco Network Emergency Response Vehicle (NERV) as an example of deploying mobile data centers as part of a company’s disaster recovery strategy.NERV is certainly a cool concept and data centers have been put to good use in New Orleans and southern California. However, even mundane consolidation and virtualization efforts can pay off. Here is a link to a case study for how consolidation/simplification, IP Telephony and virtualization efforts were central to Cox Communications, Inc ability to quickly and safely restore business operations after Hurricane Katrina.