Cisco UCS Servers

The Cisco UCS (Unified Computing System) is an x86 based single architecture data center server platform. This platform consists of Computing hardware, virtualization, management software, storage access etc. all this was done so that the cost of ownership can be reduced and all the components are combined as a single unit. This exclusive styled integration of component enables end-to-end server visibility, management, and control in both metal and virtual environments, and assists the transfer to cloud computing and IT-as-a-Service with Fabric-Based Infrastructure. 

Cisco UCS servers allow you to significantly lower the number of devices your organization must purchase, deploy, and maintain. With an exclusive architecture that allows end-to-end server visibility, management, and control in bare metal and virtual environments, Cisco UCS servers can help lower cost of ownership while maximizing IT business value.

Cisco Server pricing:

Vibrant Technologies buys and sells new and used Cisco Servers and can be your guide to Cisco UCS pricing.  Contact us today for current pricing or information on Cisco servers.

Cisco Servers and Blades are typically priced at a slight premium when compared to similar HP Proliant or Dell blades, but are equally competitive on the secondary market for used servers.

Computing hardware: types of computing hardware in UCS servers include standalone servers and blade chassises. Some of the Cisco server families include:

• B-series Blade servers
• C-series Rack server
• 5100 Series Blade Chassises
• Internal Blade Modules

Virtualization: Cisco UCS supports some hypervisors (Virtual Machine Monitor which create and execute virtual machines) as well including hypervisors like VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V. 

Management: Management of these devices Is done by using CISCO UCS Manager, a software embedded in Fabric interconnect, and is accessed by using a simple browser (using Firefox or Google chrome) or using command-line interface.

Cisco UCS History In March 2009, the launch of UCS server and UCS platform was announced and by the end of 2012, Cisco UCS managed to capture more than 11,000 customers and annual revenue of 822m. In 2012, UCS servers and platforms were the fasted growing Cisco products in their history. These servers were in third place behind IBM and HP initially. Cisco has gained great traction by focusing on the server virtualization market and users, with an infrastructure optimized to enable virtualization users. UCS had early advantages such as increasing the number of server ports to 48, instead of 12 as in traditional server platforms.

UCS Server types

- B-series Blade servers Performance, energy efficiency, and flexibility can be enhanced by using these 2 and 4 socket servers. These servers work with virtualized and as well as non-virtualized applications.

- C-series Rack servers Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are used to deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form to reduce the cost of ownership and increase swiftness. Each product controls changing workload tasks through a balance of processing, memory, and internal storage resources. These servers provide users with benefits like simplified application deployment, reduction in ownership costs.

Cisco UCS Advantages
-  Advanced architecture requiring less rack space, power, and cooling than a normal blade server.
-  Designed for tight integration with server virtualization and the network.
-  Cisco manages the entire UCS virtual data center using one management platform. Cisco management can also be combined with other management platforms from outside vendors like BMC.
-  The overall strength is in assimilating and refining both storage and network I/O. 

-  Provides greater administrative and operational control, using fewer individual points of management, thereby allowing increased scalability while reducing difficulty. Cisco is aiming for the clouds both figuratively and literally. It is betting that its highly integrated virtual UCS is the best for massive data centers and cloud computing. Cisco UCS Manager provides a powerful policy-driven framework for data center management and formation.  

- The use of policy can greatly support in formalizing, standardizing and imposing business rules as applied to computing, network, and storage access.   

Cisco has managed to take both a leadership and growth position in the realm of Cisco server blades and integrated server solutions while Vibrant has become the leading reseller of used Cisco servers.

For more information on new or used Cisco UCS Servers, please contact Cisco server sales at info@vibrant.com or call 952-653-1700.