Cisco VXI - End-to-End Architecture for VDI

As we all know, enterprise IT departments are increasingly being pressured to control costs, improve manageability, enhance security, and accelerate the deployment of new capabilities, while providing a consistent user experience across a wide range of endpoints. Desktop virtualization has become a popular solution for addressing these needs. With hosted desktop, end user desktop images (operating system, applications, and associated data) are hosted as virtual machines on data center servers. Users can access hosted virtual desktops from many locations through VDI appliances, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop and desktop computers, and other clients.

You may not have been aware that Cisco had a specific VDI strategy but they have developed the Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI) system, an end-to-end architecture for virtualization. Cisco VXI integrates and extends proven Cisco architectures for data centers, borderless networks, and collaboration to provide a comprehensive system for deploying virtualization across the enterprise. Cisco VXI offers a superior collaboration and rich media experience with best-in-class return-on-investment, by delivering a fully integrated, open, and validated desktop virtualization system.

The Cisco VXI system architecture comprises three fundamental building blocks - the Virtualized Data Center, the Virtualization-Aware Network, and the Virtualized Workplace. The Virtualized Data Center is based on Cisco's Data Center Business Advantage architecture, which creates data centers that are efficient, agile, and transformative. The Data Center Business Advantage architecture delivers faster service creation, higher efficiency and profitability through simplicity, innovative IT models, and open platforms that preserve customer choice.

The Virtualization-Aware Network is based on the Cisco Borderless Networks architecture, which reduces operational complexity and provides services needed to connect anyone, anywhere, on any device. The Virtualized Collaborative Workplace builds on the Cisco Collaboration architecture to extend the reach of the virtual desktop to a wide range of end points, while supporting critical collaboration capabilities such as conferencing and messaging.

This video is from Wyse (one of the initial Cisco VXI partners) explaining VXI and how they are collaborating with Cisco:

More info: Cisco Website

Cisco Reaches 10GbE Milestone

Cisco has now shipped its one millionth Nexus 10Gb Ethernet port, bringing the total number of Nexus ports in customer production environments to more than 7,000,000. The company also surpassed 10,000 NX-OS customers and neared 4,000 Unified Computing Systems customers at the end of its fiscal second quarter, demonstrating the platforms are quickly becoming the infrastructure of choice for next generation data center virtualization and private clouds in enterprise, public sector, commercial and service provider markets.

The Nexus and UCS families of products are key assets in Cisco's cloud computing portfolio. They provide the building blocks for highly virtualized data center and private cloud environments, and are already widely deployed by enterprises for private cloud applications such as desktop virtualization, hosted voice, video, collaboration and security. 

Cisco's unified fabric is based on delivering architectural flexibility for any application, in any location, and any scale in a secure, scalable and open manner. The Nexus and Unified Computing System product families are designed to help customers build data center environments in a modular fashion. Cisco has employed an evolutionary standards-based approach throughout its next generation data center portfolio to provide customers with investment protection.

Cisco UCS Express for Branch Virtualization

Great overview video of the new Cisco UCS Express Modules that extend datacenter virtualization to the branch office. UCS Express is a converged network, computing, and virtualization platform for hosting essential services and business applications.

Cisco Live 2011 UK - Live Blog With NetApp About UCS

Didier Rombaut (Cisco), Tim Waldron (NetApp), Lisa Caywood (Cisco) and Steven Guthrie (CA Technologies) talk about the first day of Cisco Live 2011 in London, UK.

New Cisco Catalyst Switches Designed for Outside of the Wiring Closet

If you are like many of Lexcom's clients, the need for switches in locations that don't have power or are space constrained has posed a unique challenge. Cisco has now addressed this with their new Catalyst 3560-C and 2960-C.  The C stands for compact and both have the ability to deliver highly secure, cost-effective network connectivity and power outside the wiring closet. 

Cisco C-Series Switches are compact versions of the Cisco Catalyst 3560-X Series and 2960-S Series, with the same functionality, OS and management capabilities as their wiring-closet brethren, and are roughly half the size of an Xbox console. Cisco C-Series Switches enable the deployment of highly secure advanced customer services, including unified communications, wireless access, IP video and other applications in wiring-, space-, and power-constrained environments. With Cisco's industry-first pass-through Power over Ethernet (PoE) capability, the C-Series Switches eliminate the need for access to power outlets and dramatically reduce cabling complexities and overall infrastructure requirements.

Cisco Catalyst C-Series Switches are designed to enable the delivery of network services in environments where unique wiring challenges would otherwise require the disruption of regular business operations. Such environments include those in:

• retail (point of sale, kiosk, checkout counter and warehouse)
• education (classroom, dormitory and laboratory)
• health care (doctor's office, patient check-in counter, exam room and labs)
• hospitality/entertainment (hotel room, cruise ship cabin, conference room, and slot machine floor or other gaming area)