Networking firm Cisco and computer storage, data management company NetApp have partnered to extend the FlexPod cloud architecture with a series of new pre-validated design architectures which will be customised to perform smaller workloads, helping customers to accelerate their transition to the cloud.
The new designs for FlexPod would serve workloads with 500 to 1,000 users allowing customers to invest only in the infrastructure they require which can be scaled up for future growth.
The new FlexPod series is built on a shared infrastructure that combines computing, networking and storage applications from Cisco and NetApp.
The two companies have also validated several new management applications from various software management vendors for all FlexPod design architectures.
The entry-level FlexPod application allows customers to invest only in the infrastructure they require and to gain investment protection.
It also combines the NetApp entry level FAS 2240 and the Cisco UCS C-Series Cisco Nexus 5000 Switches, Cisco Nexus 2232 Fabric Extender, and Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects.
Customers can vlidate FlexPod management applications which provide unified, turn-key functionality for automation and orchestration.
In addition, customers can also maximise their investment in existing management tools by managing their application via open APIs, Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud, VMware vCloud Director or VMware vCenter Server.
