Avatar

Today’s cloud strategies center around a hybrid model with technology leaders looking for solutions to efficiently and to securely support a mix of traditional and cloud native applications and simplify operations across a complex and distributed multi-domain ecosystem for hybrid work.

At Cisco, we believe a successful hybrid cloud strategy requires three essential components: a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) stack that provides a scale-out compute-storage foundation with a cloud-like operating experience, a workload engine that delivers virtual machines- and containers-as-a-service, and a rich suite of SaaS that provides full-stack observability, workload management and optimization. HyperFlex is a proven and industry-recognized HCI solution that delivers cloud-like agility with performance and security to power mission-critical workloads across datacenter and edge location, with one filesystem to ensure interoperability.  Combined with the Cisco Intersight Cloud Operations Platform, it simplifies operations enabling IT generalists to easily manage resources across distributed environments and incorporates a full stack of integrated services that eliminates silos to bridge application and infrastructure, and allow extended teams including application managers, DevOp’s, and business units to working seamlessly.

Introducing HyperFlex 5.0

HyperFlex release 5.0 brings innovations that enhance the hybrid cloud foundation, with support for the latest generation Intel processors and NVMe storage media, new data services for security and data protection, and increased flexibility with new options for IT to build out clusters.

Support for performance intensive applications – M6 now orderable

  • Eleven new Cisco UCS M6 based nodes utilizing Intel 3rd Generation Xeon Scalable processors (Ice Lake) to fit every customer’s workload needs.
  • An all new 2U HX240 M6 All NVMe node which delivers the highest performance and storage density for mission critical data center workloads.

Data security and protection

  • FIPS 140-2 certified, software-based, data at-rest encryption for HyperFlex Data Center and Edge Clusters with native key management through the Intersight Key Manager which increases both security and simplicity by eliminating the overhead of key management.
  • Enhanced data protection with N:1 replication for datacenter clusters orchestrated by Cisco Intersight and snapshots for iSCSI LUNs.
  • From Cisco Intersight, expanded cluster checks such as controller VM security posture and integrity, and cluster capacity recommendations and reports.

Software-centric cluster flexibility and agility

  • Deploy Hyperflex M6 BOM-compatible UCS servers as converged or compute-only nodes based on dynamic software personalities.
  • The ability to convert UCS M6 compute-only nodes to HyperFlex converged nodes and vice versa to support dynamic workload needs.
  • Flexibility to start with a small Edge cluster and grow into a datacenter FI-less configuration as needs grow over time.

Final thoughts

We’re excited to announce and release the latest feature set that builds on the success of the platform.  Over the last year, HyperFlex was recognized as a leader in the 2020 Forrester Wave for hyperconverged infrastructure and named Overall Winner for hyperconverged infrastructure in CRN’s Product of the Year awards.

The introduction of HyperFlex 5.0 continues our commitment of continuous innovation that simplifies hybrid cloud operations.

 


Resources:

To learn more about Cisco HyperFlex visit: www.cisco.com/go/hyperflex



Authors

Manish Agarwal

Director of Product Management, HyperFlex

Data Center