Articles
Cisco UCS in a world with lotsa data
1 min read
My previous blogs have turned into a “in a world” series introducing the reader to the versatility of the Cisco Unified Computing System. We are no strangers to the fact that data collection and data records are exploding. The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to add a lot more data to our treasure trove. As more […]
Cisco UCS in a world with windows
2 min read
Earlier in the week I had blogged about Cisco UCS in a world of open source computing. And now with Microsoft TechEd right around the weekend, I get to blog about Cisco UCS in a Windows world. Both are relevant now that Cisco is the #2 x86 blade server vendor worldwide with 17.6% of the […]
Cisco UCS in the world of open source computing
2 min read
A few weeks ago, I was at Cisco Open Source Conference 2013 – a conference hosted by Cisco where we had speakers from IBM, Canonical, Red Hat and Rackspace, among others. I learned a lot, specifically about the evolution of Hadoop and the OpenStack project. As a follow on, I collated different activities around Cisco […]
Post CA World 2013
2 min read
The last couple of weeks have been among my most hectic. CA World 2013 was a blast and the return flight from Las Vegas was an adventure in itself with an inebriated co-passenger. Over the weekend I attended a colorful Indian wedding deep in heart of the Austin hill country. Anyone who has been a […]
Cisco at CA World 2013
2 min read
I am writing this from CA World 2013 in Las Vegas where the atmosphere is charged up. The theme for this conference is “Go Big. IT with Impact”. The idea is that IT departments have to think big to make material business impacts and succeed. At the end of the day IT needs to solve […]
Cisco UCS – Quintessential Fabric-based computing – Part 3
2 min read
In Part 1 of this blog series, we looked at Gartner’s definition of Fabric based infrastructure (FBI). In part 2, we explored the benefits of service profiles and automation of server management. In this last installment, we will look into the benefits of fabric extension to virtual machines. According to an IDC report (New Economic […]
Cisco UCS – Quintessential Fabric-based computing – Part 2
2 min read
In Part 1 of this blog series, I introduced Gartner’s definition of Fabric based infrastructure (FBI). I explained the benefit of data center fabrics with the promise of continuing in a follow on blog. Some readers rightly pointed out to me that I had not yet touched on the automation benefits. This video featuring Gartner […]
Cisco UCS – Quintessential Fabric-based computing – Part 1
In the last fiscal quarter Cisco UCS reached another milestone with 20,000 (87% Y/Y growth) customers. The (no longer) new data center paradigm of fabric based computing must be resulting in unique customer benefits, and hence the market traction. Gartner defines Fabric based computing as follows: Fabric-based computing (FBC) is a modular form of computing in […]
Got lots of data? No problem for Cisco UCS
In a recent interview, the Director of IT Operations at a New York based Enterprise said that one of the biggest problems he was facing was maintaining customer satisfaction on performance as the data deluge grew unabated. According to an IDC 2012 report “..Data creation is taking place at an unprecedented rate and is currently […]
Server Management – Critical consideration for data center automation and orchestration
2 min read
I wish the topic of Server management was as juicy as Lance Armstrong’s confession or as intriguing as Manti Te’os girlfriend hoax, but it is NOT. It is, however, intertwined with two of the domains– 1) infrastructure management and 2) automation and orchestration described in the Cisco Domain Ten model. Server management was also one […]
Was 2012 Year of the Converged Infrastructure Solutions?
2 min read
As we got past the Mayan Apocalyse day and as 2012 comes to an end, a question to reflect upon is if this has been the year of the Converged Infrastructure Solutions. Incidentally, use of these solutions by data centers was a topic of discussion on a panel moderated by Jim McHugh last month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Ki-iBCZr8 […]
Cloud Computing and Cisco UCS
2 min read
In my blog last week I introduced a series of conversations in which Mike Spanbauer, Industry analyst at Current Analysis, Cisco Executives, Jim McHugh and Brian Schwarz discussed several topics. One of the topics they discussed was the adoption of Cloud technologies by Enterprises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOY_yx1wE0g More details on the specific study that Mike alluded to […]
Cisco UCS in the Private Cloud
1 min read
As an early convert to the virtues of Cloud computing, it is fascinating to see the adoption of the ideas. Most organizations if not all, are figuring out how to harness cloud technologies to their advantage. It is interesting to get a perspective from an analyst who talks to users on a regular basis […]
Just what we need on Cyber Monday – Cisco UCS Central
2 min read
Total (consumer) spending for the (Thanksgiving 2012) weekend reached an estimated $59.1 billion, a 13% increase from a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation. Online spending on Friday alone topped $1 billion for the first time, according to the data-analysis firm comScore Inc. We can analyze the seasonal patterns of traffic by studying the Alexa […]
James Bond and Data Centers??
1 min read
This weekend I managed to see the new James Bond film, Skyfall. The technologist in me noticed the transformation of the espionage industry to the cyber world. More interesting were the Data Center scenes in which the equipment was neatly arranged with minimal cabling. One blog even called it the data center of the future. […]