** this post has been slightly edited thanks to feedback from Sean McGee** In previous posts I’ve outlined: How UCS server failover occurs from a network perspective: http://www.definethecloud.net/ucs-server-failover How Inter-fabric traffic is handled in End-Host mode: http://www.definethecloud.net/inter-fabric-traffic-in-ucs How inter-fabric traffic is handled in switch mode: http://www.definethecloud.net/inter-fabric-traffic-in-ucspart-ii If you’re not familiar…
Tag: cisco
Technology Passion
The May 24th IDC report on server market share by the IDC validated a technology I’ve been passionate about for some time; Cisco unified Computing System (UCS.) For the first time since UCS’s launch two years ago Cisco reported server earnings to IDC with amazing result – #3 in global…
OTV and Vplex: Plumbing for Disaster Avoidance
High availability, disaster recovery, business continuity, etc. are all key concerns of any data center design. They all describe separate components of the big concept: ‘When something does go wrong how do I keep doing business.’ Very public real world disasters have taught us as an industry valuable lessons in…
Cisco unified Computing System (UCS) High-Level Overview
I’ve been looking for tools to supplement Power Point, Whiteboard, etc. and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) suggested I try Prezi (www.prezi.com.) Prezi is a very slick tool for non-slide based presentations.  I don’t think it will replace slides or white board for me, but it’s a great supplement. It’s got a…
Inter-Fabric Traffic in UCS
It’s been a while since my last post, time sure flies when you’re bouncing all over the place busy as hell. I’ve been invited to Tech Field Day next week and need to get back in the swing of things so here goes. In order for Cisco’s Unified Computing System…
My First Podcast: ‘Coffee With Thomas’
I had the pleasure of joining Thomas Jones on his new podcast ‘Coffee With Thomas’.’ His podcast is always good, well put together and about 30 minutes. It’s done in a very refreshing conversation style as if your having a cup of coffee. If your interested in listening to us…
What’s the deal with Quantized Congestion Notification (QCN)
For the last several months there has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere and Twitter about FCoE and whether full scale deployment requires QCN. There are two camps on this: FCoE does not require QCN for proper operation with scale. FCoE does require QCN for proper operation and…
The Difference Between ‘Foothold’ and ‘Lock-In’
There is always a lot of talk within IT marketing around vendor ‘lock-in’. This is most commonly found within competitive marketing, i.e. ‘Product X from Company Y creates lock-in causing you to purchase all future equipment from them. In some cases lock-in definitely exists, in other cases what you really…
SMT, Matrix and Vblock: Architectures for Private Cloud
Cloud computing environments provide enhanced scalability and flexibility to IT organizations. Many options exist for building cloud strategies, public, private etc. For many companies private cloud is an attractive option because it allows them to maintain full visibility and control of their IT systems. Private clouds can also be further…
10 Things to Know About Cisco UCS
Bob Olwig VP of Corporate Business Development for World Wide Technologies (www.wwt.com) asked me to provide 10 things to know about UCS for his blog http://bobolwig.wordpress.com. See the post 10 Things to Know About Cisco UCS here: http://bobolwig.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/10-things-to-know-about-cisco-ucs/. Related posts: Cisco unified Computing System (UCS) High-Level Overview Why Cisco UCS…