Cloud computing is part of the journey to deliver IT as a Service which enables IT to change from a cost center to a business strategic partner. Forrester Research recently published a report that concluded, “Cloud computing is ready for the enterprise… but many enterprises aren’t ready for the cloud.”1   Yet Cloud deployments are happening – and I mean all types of Clouds – Private, Public and Hybrid. In other words, we have entered the World of Many Clouds.

Network touches everything and is a key building block for agile and scalable virtualized and Cloud-based data centers. Yesterday, I have introduced our new Nexus 6000 series and new 40 GE extensions to Nexus 5500 and 2000 Series. Today, I would like to introduce the very first services module for the Nexus 7000 Series.

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Tags: Cisco, cloud, Cloud Computing, Consolidation, convergence, data center, DCNM, FabricPath, fex, Hybrid Cloud, it-as-a-service, LISP, NAM, Network Analysis Module, nexus, Nexus 6000, Nexus 7000, NX-OS, OTV, private cloud, Public Cloud, Service Module, switch, Unified Fabric, virtualization

Cisco partner Imperva formally announced plans this week to deploy and host their SecureSphere Web Application Firewall (WAF) on the Nexus 1010 and 1110 Virtual Service Appliances. The SecureSphere WAF will be the first third party virtual service available on the Cisco virtual service appliances, joining Cisco virtual services such as the Virtual Security Gateway (VSG), the ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall, virtual Network Analysis Module (vNAM), Data Center Network Manager (DCNM), and the Nexus 1000V Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM).

In earlier posts, I have described how virtual services can be best deployed on a separate UCS-based appliance running NX-OS. The Nexus 1100 series are dedicated platforms for hosting virtual service nodes that run in a virtual machine, rather than taking up valuable resources on application servers, and allow for easier manageability by the networking and security teams (rather than the server team).  Read More »

Tags: ASA 1000V, Cloud Firewall, Data Center Network Manager, DCNM, Imperva, Network Analysis Module, Nexus 1000v, Nexus 1100, pci, SecureSphere, UCS, Virtual Security Gateway, virtual services appliance, vsg, Web Application Firewall

Cisco is announcing this week a new member of the Nexus 1000V virtualization infrastructure portfolio, the Nexus 1010-X virtual services appliance. The new Nexus 1010-X is an extended version of the existing Nexus 1010 appliance, and represents a larger, more scalable and cost-efficient configuration for larger data center deployments and cloud applications. What is a virtual services appliance and why should customers use it? The Cisco Nexus 1010 and 1010-X provide improved management, scalability and visibility in environments running the Nexus 1000V virtual switch and the VMware vSphere hypervisor. Read More »

Tags: Network Analysis Module, Nexus 1000v, Nexus 1010, Nexus 1010-X, Virtual Security Gateway