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.
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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.
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