Converged Infrastructure

Rapidly changing demand and workload diversity have forced the IT organizations to create large sets of hardware and software components—and spend time integrating them into a workable solution. Cisco Converged Infrastructure is a powerful and unique integration of high-performance computing, networking, and storage coupled with resource and performance management software, multicloud orchestration, and support for multiple deployment models.

Cisco’s Converged Infrastructure core components are built using Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS), Cisco Nexus switches, and Cisco Intersight Software as a Service management and enterprise-approved storage systems to offer a range of converged solutions to meet an enterprise’s needs. Figure 1-11 shows the Cisco Converged Infrastructure portfolio, including solutions for FlexPod with NetApp, FlashStack with Pure Storage, Cisco and Hitachi Adaptive Solutions, VersaStack with IBM, and VxBlock Systems with Dell EMC.

  

Figure 1-11 Cisco Converged Infrastructure Solutions

The following list provides some of the many benefits of Converged Infrastructure:

• Operational efficiency: Component solutions or partially integrated infrastructure from different vendors can cause delays in development and deployment schedules. Component solutions force the staff to spend time making everything work together to perform as expected. The Converged Infrastructure solutions let you move from technology silos to a holistic approach that transforms the data center into pools of resources that can be easily allocated and repurposed.
• Lower total cost of ownership: The management teams recognize that operations—including people, management, software, and facilities—are the largest cost in the data center, far greater than the cost of underlying hardware. Cisco Converged Infrastructure solutions help to get more work done with the same resources and enable the staff to reduce the amount of time they spend “keeping the lights on.” With these innovative solutions, the IT staff can consolidate more workloads onto fewer servers so there are fewer components to buy and manage. All components are connected through a unified fabric that delivers high-performance data and storage networking to simplify deployment, help ensure the quality of the user experience, and reduce operating costs. These solutions also reduce cabling, power, and cooling requirements and automate routine tasks to increase productivity.
• Reduced risk: Deployment delays and service disruptions affect the company’s profitability. That’s why it is important to deploy infrastructure correctly the first time. Converged Infrastructure reduces risk and guesswork by giving the architects and administrators a guidebook for implementing solutions. Converged Infrastructure solutions are pre-validated and documented so that you can get environments up and running quickly and with confidence.

More choice and flexibility: There’s no perfect solution or one-size-fits-all approach that can support every nuance of every business application situation. Converged Infrastructure pre-validated solutions let you choose from a family of solutions that are designed to work together for your organization. It helps the IT staff reduce the risk of transitioning the existing data center environments to deliver a better digital experience.