For many months now, we’ve talked about the Journey to Cloud Computing and how an evolution within your Data Center is needed to make that a reality. In many cases, we looked at this from an application perspective, focused on the interaction between automation, applications, servers, storage and the edges of the network.

But many of you have asked us to provide you a broader understanding of the role the Network plays in the Journey to Cloud Computing. Specifically you’ve asked us to highlight several areas:

• What is Cisco’s perspective and strategy around the usage of multiple types of Cloud Computing (Private, Public, Hybrid, Community) and what is needed from the network to interconnect all these offerings?
• How does my business manage the network transitions needed between today’s applications (often client-server), the virtualization of those application, and next-generation web and big data applications?
• What considerations do we need to make within my Data Center as we try and maximize efficiency and scalability?
• What considerations do we need to make at the edges of our networks when the proliferation of devices is almost out of control?
• Are there ways to protect my network investments while still having the flexibility to deal with the business uncertainties that are around the next corner?

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Tags: Big Data, Borderless Networks, Cloud Computing, Data Center Fabric, FabricPath, Layer 2, Layer 3, nexus, UCS, virtualization, Web Applications

Over the last few days, I’ve been listening to some interesting conversations on the topic of “fabric” in the data center.  To be honest, one of the common questions I get is if there is anything materially different about “Fabric” (our Data Center Fabric or anyone else’s), or is it merely the latest buzzword from bored marketing geeks.  From what I have seen, many of the companies throwing around the term “fabric” are referring only to transport and are usually tying it to a specific product or technology.  On these two points, Cisco’s view of fabric markedly differs. Read More »

Tags: Data Center Business Advantage, Data Center Fabric, unified computing, Unified Fabric, Unified Network Services

With all the news over the last few days regarding the continuing growth of Cisco UCS, sometimes it worth taking a step back to look at how we got here. For me, I took a look at a blog post I wrote in March 2009 (pre-FCS), and it’s interesting to see how much mindset shifting has happened in such a short period of time.

A couple of important things should jump out at you:

• Cisco UCS is a simpler, more powerful way of building Data Center (or Cloud) infrastructure.
• While change can be hard, a change to Cisco UCS doesn’t have to be difficult for your organization or your IT staff.
• The short, medium and long-term vision for Cisco UCS (even from an outsider’s point of view) was clear back in 2009, well before we laid out Cisco’s strategy to evolve the Data Center of the future.
• Even as server technology has evolved over the past two years, the core UCS architecture focus on automation has continued to differentiate the product.
• No company has greater experience in helping customers transition through technology and business shifts, as is evident by the diagram above. In today’s confusing IT environment, businesses look to technology partners they can trust to help them through transitions and deliver solutions that are ahead of the curve.

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Tags: automation, Cisco UCS, Data Center Fabric, Disruption, innovation, unified computing

“Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers.” -- Pat Riley (championship coach)

Sometimes change is difficult because of actual uncertainty, and sometimes change is difficult because of perceived uncertainty. The former is usually measured through probability and addressed via risk mitigation techniques. That latter is overcome through education and little bit of “prove it to me”.

It’s been two years and Cisco hasn’t quit the server business, as predicted by some. Independent analysts have highlighted the value and vision of Cisco Data Center Fabric. Cisco UCS has been setting performance records at a rapid pace, and customers of all sizes have been building out their Data Center Fabric with UCS and Nexus.

But sometimes it’s about more than technology and vision. Sometimes it’s about people, and concerns about uncertainty. What happens when previously isolated technologies begin to converge?

This is one of the areas that we will be highlighting at EMC World 2011 this week, in speaking sessions, booth demonstrations and theater presentations. Our goal is to not only highlight best-in-class convergence technologies, but educate network and storage professionals about the realities of creating Data Center Fabric networks with Cisco.

Question: Maybe you’re asking yourself, “Who owns the platforms and network when they converge into a Data Center Fabric?”

The answer: You do. The Storage Teams. The Network Teams. You own the distribution of responsibilities, and the underlying infrastructure allows you to either isolate operations or begin to integrate them. At your pace. According to your business needs. Read More »

Tags: Cisco UCS, Cloud Computing, Converged Infrastructure, Data Center Fabric, EMC World