NetApp, a developer of storage and data management systems, and Cisco have announced that they are teaming up to provide customers with unified, dynamic data centre services that are based on Cisco’s Unified Computing System and NetApp Unified Storage Architecture.
Cisco and NetApp are working together to certify the combined application, and the companies will also collaborate on customer support and marketing activities.
NetApp said that the Cisco Unified Computing System unites compute, network, storage access, and virtualisation resources in a cohesive new data centre architecture. This allows customers to reduce the complexities often associated with data center virtualisation, lower costs, and improve asset utilisation. Through Cisco Validated Design, NetApp will provide storage services for the Cisco Unified Computing System that will be tested for interoperability in virtualised data centreenvironments.
Customers can benefit from the unified storage model across the entire NetApp product portfolio, application integration technologies such as the NetApp SnapManager product suite, and advanced storage efficiency features. As a result, customers can use NetApp’s storage efficiency capabilities to drive down raw storage requirements, lower costs, improve utilisation in virtualized environments, and simplify administrative tasks, said NetApp.
Cisco and NetApp will also collaborate on joint marketing efforts, such as the multi-city Virtualized Dynamic Data Center Roadshow with VMware and other select solution integration partners. NetApp will also participate in Cisco’s Data Center of the Future program. Both of these programs will focus on educating customers about NetApp and Cisco data centre offerings.
In March 2009, Cisco announced that NetApp is a participant in Cisco’s open ecosystem of partners for the Unified Computing System, which is focused on stimulating innovation, enhancing service delivery, and accelerating the market adoption of unified computing. NetApp supports and resells the Cisco Nexus 5000 and MDS data center switching products, and in 2008, Cisco and NetApp announced support for the FCoE storage array.
The two companies have also worked together on an Ethernet Unification Center of Excellence, located at NetApp’s campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, which was announced in February 2009. The centre features ethernet-based protocols running on a Cisco 10 Gigabit Ethernet backbone.
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Tom Georgens, president and COO for NetApp, said: As more and more customers move to a virtualised infrastructure, they require the necessary storage, compute, and network solutions needed to transition to a truly dynamic data centre. Through our long-standing collaboration with Cisco, we are enabling customers to tap deep into the power of their virtualised environment through a unified and scalable platform for a more efficient and streamlined experience.
