Part of Cisco’s Data Center strategy includes Data Center Interconnect (DCI). DCI is a solutions-based approach to virtualize an organization’s 2 or more Data Centers. That is, multiple Data Centers can be architected so that they can seamlessly share resources while also delivering new services addressing today’s business challenges and opportunities.
I’m a Product Manager in our Systems Architecture and Strategy Unit (SASU) where we develop DCI enabled architectures *and* put them through our solutions test bed. Our output includes White Papers, Industry Presentations as well as Design and Implementation Guides with the Cisco Validated Design (CVD) designation.
My ultimate goal here is to share what’s happening and help point you in the right direction as you make your DCI decision or just want to learn about the solution in general. To get you started, please check out our DesignZone as well as more specific DCI content here.
CiscoLive London was an incredible trip and gosh it was only 30 days ago – our first little project out of that voyage is TechWiseTV85 our latest episode on Data Center technologies. Data Center Optimization: The Next Stage is now available for your viewing pleasure in our ‘still has that new website smell’ environment we affectionately call the CVC (Cisco Virtual Connection).
This show was another exercise in self-restraint as the DC team had brought out an amazing selection – if we were hoping that a global show would mean a smaller show…we were out of luck.
I’ve written before (here, here, and here) that Cloud Computing is more than some cool software running on a server. Sure, the applications are the sizzle on the steak (+ all the marketing terms -- dynamic, elastic, on-demand, etc.), but there’s a little more to it than that. A user needs to access the application, get the information quickly (or sent it information), and feel confident that the information was delivered securely. The application doesn’t always know what type of device will access it (PC, Mac, Browser, Tablet, Smartphone, etc.), so it can’t be 100% sure it’ll deliver the best user-experience. And users will demands that applications continue to run regardless of the mobile device’s location. All those demands on applications get a lot easier, and in some cases require, an intelligent network providing the infrastructure.
But people often forget those details because they have become so accustomed to a robust network always being there. They might struggle to define the value of that network, just as Kodak did in defining “original technology” in the famous Mad Men episode (Carousel).
Don’t take my word for it, hear what Cisco Cloud CTO Lew Tucker had to say during a recent set of meetings with industry analysts -- here, here, here, here and here. Read More »
Enable great user-experiences, regardless of where the user is on the planet.
Those are the table stakes requirements of today’s Data Center networks. Do that and business leaders will ignore it like a referee that never makes a bad call in a sporting event. Click-to-“Right Now”, Borderless, 24x7x365 networks. No problem. We can do that.
But with the pace of technology change in today’s Data Center, so much more is being expected of the network: Read More »
At VMworld 2010, we were excited to receive the “Best of VMworld 2010″ award in the Hardware for Virtualization category with our Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) technology. Running on the Cisco Nexus 7000 series, OTV allows Service Providers to bridge LANs between separate data centers in an intelligent, secure, and dynamic fashion. In essence, it brings layer 2 capabilities to layer 3 over a unified IP network and was designed for large networks. This enables SPs to use their scale to provide better services (i.e. resource utilization and optimization), decrease costs (i.e. workload balancing), and ensure service delivery (i.e. business continuity and flexible upgrading options).
We were also glad to meet and interact with customers at the Cisco booth. Our theater sessions were full, our demos were in high demand, and we had some great conversations. A recording of the full presentation of the opportunity for SPs in the Cloud is now available:
