Cisco Provides Server for Data Centers with Linux from Red Hat

Mar 19, 2009

Mathias Huber

Under the name Unified Computing System (UCS), Cisco hopes to cost-effectively remold the data center. The Linux operating system for this scenario will come from Red Hat.

Cisco, until now mainly a network specialist, will provide with its new offerings not only 10-Gbit network hardware, but also as a new blade server with Intel's Nehalem processor.

In the so-called Data Center 3.0, equipment and services will merge into one. Key technologies will include virtualization and fast network speed, with standards to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Through a variety of network technologies such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, and I-SCSI, necessary computer and storage services should be easily accessible.

Cisco UCS Manager management software will have a GUI and command line interface available and should be able to link to new systems and services through an API.

In a Youtube video, Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst welcomes the cooperation and stresses the approximately 3,000 applications certified through third parties that his company can produce.

Within the framework of UCS, Cisco will act as OEM for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so that through them customers can get the complete solution, including the Red Hat operating system and support. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 is certified both as a native operating system as well as a virtualized guest for Cisco hardware. The virtualization products that Red Hat has advertised will play an important role.
Other partners with Cisco Unified Computing System are: BMC Software, EMC, Emulex, Intel, Microsoft, NetApp, Novell, Oracle, QLogic, SAP, and VMWare.

Cisco will devote a separate area on its U.S. website to the Unified Computing System.

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