SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - September 16, 2008) - Expanding on its
Data Center 3.0 product portfolio, Cisco (
NASDAQ:
CSCO) is delivering new
storage
area network (SAN) technology designed specifically to help customers
improve performance and scalability, simplify
SAN management,
increase data security, and enhance
SAN
services in Virtual Machine (VM) environments. Together, these new
technologies support Cisco's vision to help its customers to design and
build next generation data
centers. The Cisco vision for Data Center 3.0 entails the real-time,
dynamic orchestration of infrastructure services from shared pools of
virtualized server, storage and network resources, while optimizing
application performance, service levels, efficiency and collaboration.
The new Cisco SAN technology includes three Cisco MDS 9000 Family
8-Gigabit-per-second (8-Gbps) Fibre Channel switching modules and new
capabilities in Cisco's
SAN
operating system, which has been re-branded
NX-OS. These new SAN capabilities, combined with Cisco's data
center-class
MDS and
Nexus
platforms, will help IT managers evolve towards a single operating system
and a
unified data
center fabric, simplifying data center management and reducing costs.
"The new Cisco 8-Gbps switch modules are attractive because they can be
used in any combination to increase port density and performance as needed,
inserting them into an existing Cisco 9500 chassis without having to do a
major upgrade," said Brian Perlstein, technical architect at Oakwood
Healthcare System. "As an early adopter of Cisco's SAN technology, we've
come to really appreciate that kind of investment protection."
New 8-Gigabit-per-second Fibre Channel SAN Switch Modules
Cisco is introducing three new 8-Gigabit-per-second Fibre Channel SAN
switch modules designed to provide high performance, scalability, SAN
design flexibility, investment protection, and cost effectiveness. Because
the new Cisco switching modules are compatible with all Cisco MDS 9500
Series Multilayer Directors, SAN administrators can help protect their
existing investments in 2-Gbps and 4-Gbps storage infrastructure and
gradually phase in 8-Gbps technology as their network demands it. By
combining Cisco 24-Port, 48-Port, and 4/44-Port switching modules in a
single, modular chassis, SAN managers can design storage networks optimized
for cost and performance in a wide range of application environments. This
application-optimized approach helps reduce the number of switches and
Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) required in a storage network, helping to
simplify SAN management and reduce costs.
The new modules also address growing enterprise security and compliance
requirements by delivering transparent, hardware-based, line-rate
encryption of Fibre Channel data in motion between any Cisco MDS 9000
family 8-Gbps modules. Cisco TrustSec Fibre Channel (CTS-FC) helps preserve
the integrity and confidentiality of Fibre Channel traffic between Cisco
MDS 9000 family modular switches within a data center or across metro area
networks.
"Within our virtual machine environment, the Cisco MDS SAN platform has
been very adept at handling the higher workloads and providing high
availability, QOS, security, and performance monitoring to our Virtual
Machine environment," said John Stroosnijder, storage architect at Dutch
Telematics Organization. "The ability to flexibly and easily add 8-Gbps
capability to an existing SAN when it is needed, without having to undergo
a major system upgrade is also an important factor for SAN administrators."
The new Cisco modules include:
-- Cisco 24-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module
Designed for demanding storage networking environments, this module
delivers up to 192-Gbps of full-duplex bandwidth to connect high-end
storage subsystems and for Inter Switch Link (ISL) connectivity between
switches. The module provides multiprotocol capability for mainframe
connectivity and Cisco Virtual SANs (VSANs) for hardware-based
separation of Fibre Channel and FICON traffic.
-- Cisco 48-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module
With forty-eight auto-sensing 1/2/4/8-Gbps ports this module delivers
192 Gbps of full-duplex bandwidth, providing a balance of performance
and scalability to connect highly virtualized servers in
enterprise-class data centers.
-- Cisco 4/44-Port 8-Gbps Host-Optimized Fibre Channel Switching Module
With four 8-Gbps ports and forty-four 4-Gbps ports, this high-density
module provides a cost effective solution to consolidate standard
servers with fewer SAN switches, often eliminating the need for a
core-edge SAN topology.
Cisco NX-OS Operating System
The Cisco SAN operating system, SAN-OS, has been renamed NX-OS, reflecting
Cisco's goal to develop a single data center operating system that will
support a unified fabric combining both LANs and SANs. In addition to
support for 8-Gbps performance, Cisco NX-OS for the MDS platform also
delivers consistent policy, visibility, and diagnostics across the data
center for both physical and virtual server environments, enabling key
Cisco SAN services such as QoS and security for Virtual Machine
environments. Cisco-based SANs are now virtual machine-aware, offering a
resilient, high performance fabric to support large, dense virtual machine
environments. Another key feature is Cisco MDS 9000 family Secure Erase, a
SAN-based intelligent fabric application that erases data in such a way
that reconstructing the data is essentially impossible.
Pricing and Availability
The new Cisco 8-Gbps SAN switch modules are expected to be offered by
Cisco's OSM partners in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2008, with
starting prices set by Cisco's OSM storage partners.
Find More Information Online:
Web Site Links:
For more information on Cisco Storage Networking Solutions:
http://www.cisco.com/go/storage
For more information on Cisco Data Center 3.0:
http://www.cisco.com/go/datacenterCisco
Data Center Blog:
http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/
Technorati Tags: Cisco, Virtual Machines, Storage Area Networks, Storage
Networking, Data Center, SAN Switches, Storage Networking Switches
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