At-a-Glance

Managing Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers with Cisco UCS Manager
Cisco Unified Computing System
The Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) integrates industry-standard, x86-architecture Intel Xeon processorbased servers with networking and storage access into a single unified system. Server, networking, storage, and intelligent management resources work together in a self-aware and selfintegrating system. A form-factor-neutral architecture supports blade and rack servers with the same singlewire management model, offering greater flexibility and computing density with fewer infrastructure components. as single-wire management, and the simplicity that it brings to data center racks is illustrated in Figure1. The result is lower capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) and improved business agility compared to traditional environments. Connecting Through Cisco Fabric Extenders When Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integrated into Cisco UCS, a single pair of cables connects each servers Cisco virtual interface card (VIC) to an active-active pair of Cisco Nexus fabric extenders. These low-cost, low-power-consuming devices bring the unified fabric to each rack, providing lossless connectivity without imposing layers of switching or additional management points. Typically installed at the top of each server rack, Cisco fabric extenders facilitate rack-and-roll deployment in which preconfigured racks are easily integrated into Cisco UCS by connecting a small number of uplinks to

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Capable of operating in standalone deployments or as part of Cisco UCS, Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers extend unified computing innovations to a rack form factor, including unified management through a single wire, a standards-based unified network fabric, and radical simplification through Cisco fabric extender technology that dramatically reduces the number of topof-rack and blade-chassis switches and management points. Connectivity with Cisco Unified Fabric Cisco UCS is integrated with a low-latency, 10-Gbps unified fabric that brings IP networking, storage access, and management to each of the systems blade and rack systems. In contrast to traditional rack and blade servers that must use discrete networks for each type of I/O, Cisco UCS uses a wire-once architecture that provides uniform access from all servers to all resources with specific capabilities enabled through software. Cisco refers to the integration of management and data planes

Cisco Uni ed Computing System Connectivity

Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
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Cisco UCS B200 M3 Blade Servers

Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Server with Cisco UCS Virtual Inteface Card 1225

Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Figure 1. All Cisco Servers Connect to Cisco UCS Thorugh Cisco UCS and Cisco Nexus Fabric Extenders

2009-2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.

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At-a-Glance

the systems fabric interconnects. Cisco fabric extenders are stateless devices that are managed by the systems fabric interconnects, allowing Cisco UCS to reach its maximum scale with no increase in complexity or risk of inconsistent settings or firmware configurations.

End-to-End Element Management

Service Pro le
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Managing with Cisco UCS Manager

When integrated as part of Cisco UCS, Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are managed with Cisco UCS Manager, which provides a single point of management for an entire domain consisting of up to 160 servers. All componentsincluding rack and blade servers, their I/O adapters, and network componentscan be integrated and managed as a whole through an intuitive GUI, a command-line interface (CLI), or an XML API. This integrated, model-based management system eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone manual integration of individual components into application architectures using multiple individual and inconsistent element managers. Acting as the central nervous system of the Cisco UCS, Cisco UCS Manager supports: Fast, consistent, and error-free configuration with Cisco UCS service profiles that direct the configuration of every element in the hardware stack, from server and interface identity settings to uplink port settings, including VLAN, VSAN, and quality-ofservice (QoS), characteristics (Figure 2). Cisco UCS service profiles automate provisioning and increase agility, enabling systems to be configured in minutes. Role- and policy-based management preserves the roles of server, storage, and network administrators. These administrators set policies to automate the creation of Cisco UCS service profiles and templates. Automatic discovery detects, inventories, and incorporates any newly added or changed component into the management domain.

Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects

An XML-based API facilitates extensions and integration with higher-level system management tools such as provisioning and orchestration systems. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) interfaces enable management and power-state changes by third-party network management systems and virtualization environment managers. Cisco UCS Central Software For organizations needing massive scalability within single data centers or across data centers situated around the world, Cisco UCS Central Software uses Cisco UCS Manager concepts to provide unified management of multiple Cisco UCS domains for up to 10,000 servers. Cisco UCS Central Software supports management of inventory and resources such as resource pools, and Cisco UCS service profiles implement automated, role- and policy-based management on a global scale.

Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders Cisco Nexus 2232PP Fabric Extender Cisco UCS Converged Network Adapters Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Cards

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Service pro le assigned to server, chassis slot, or pool

Cisco UCS Blade and Rack Servers

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Figure 2. Cisco UCS Service Profiles Configure Every Aspect of Server Personality, Configuration, and Connectivity

Why Cisco?
Unified management is the hallmark of Cisco UCS. By integrating rack servers into this form-factor-neutral architecture, Cisco UCS Manager supports both blade and rack servers with similar ease, increasing customer choice and providing the capability to deploy the Cisco Unified Computing System on the server form factor that best suits an organizations requirements and budget.

Consistent firmware updating across all system components helps reduce downtime by enforcing compliance with tested and approved configurations. For example, a Cisco UCS service profile that configures a server to run Microsoft Windows Server software might require a different host firmware revision than a server running Red Hat Enterprise Linux. BIOS and boot settings control the systems operation, allowing it to be used for another purpose by changing the servers boot settings to load system software from an alternative source. Monitoring and troubleshooting of the entire system from a single, intuitive GUI simplifies administration.

For More Information

Please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/ucs. Managing Cisco UCS Rack Servers as Standalone Systems describes how Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can operate as independent servers.

2009-2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/ trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R) LE-33904-00 04/13