Cisco delivers datacentre boost
New 10GbE switch modules, automated event driven scripts and online community to promote management best practice.
Network giant Cisco last week launched new datacentre hardware, software and a guide for IT managers on datacentre design and implementation, to give its Service-Oriented Network Architecture (Sona) a further push.
The firm has updated its Catalyst 6500 10GbE module, doubling the ports from four to eight. Cisco said this gives a 60 percent performance boost while lowering the price per port by 30 percent. The module supports 10GbE SR, LR, ER, LX4 and CX4 optical fibre standards, and Cisco said it is committed to delivering a system based on the recently ratified 10GBaseT standard for its Catalyst switches.
Cisco has also released the Catalyst Blade Switch 3040 for Fujitsu Siemens’ Primergy series Blade Server chassis, following previous releases designed for Dell, HP and IBM.
On the software side, the vendor unveiled Cisco Beyond, an online community that it hopes will enable the sharing of event-driven scripts and datacentre best practice for hardware supporting its Internetwork Operating System (IOS) Embedded Event Manager (EEM).
Cisco Europe’s head of network systems, Neil Walker, said, “Automation of event-driven scripts for EEM, allows network administrators to run powerful command scripts similar to those used in high-end network management software – but run it on the switch. You could program what-if code into a script to alert admins to critical events.”
Walker said that such EEM scripts could, for example, automatically detect somebody connecting a Cisco IP phone to a particular Cisco switch and then configure the switch to ensure the device received sufficient quality of service.
However, since EEM is proprietary this would not work with third-party IP phones. The final part of the launch is Cisco’s Data Center Infrastructure 2.1 Design Guide, a 150-page publication focusing on best practices for scalability and high availability.
The Catalyst 6500 10GbE module is available now priced at £19,800 + VAT and the Catalyst Blade Switch 3040 will be available in mid-October for £2,270 + VAT.