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Latest Cisco Data Center News


2013Q1 IDC blade market share - Worldwide

2013Q1 IDC blade market share - Americas
  • 2013Q1 IDC Results: #CiscoUCS again grew dramatically early in 2013. A very solid #2 in market share and revenue worldwide after only four years of incredible growth. Next stop #1 in blades. Also, #CiscoUCS is in the top 5 for all blade and rack servers worldwide. Daniel DeBusschere June 12, 2013, at 05:33 AM
  • 2013 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Blade Servers: #CiscoUCS has been in the leader quadrant since 2012 but in 2013 it has moved significantly up on the ability to execute axis and far right on the completeness of vision axis. It's great to see Gartner recognize what #Cisco has done. Daniel DeBusschere June 12, 2013, at 05:33 AM

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Latest Cisco Data Center Tips

  1. Article: Port requirements for Cisco UCS environments - Some ports need to be enabled between the device and the UCS environment. Added 20130207.
  2. Article: Suggested bios settings for Cisco UCS - Suggested _CiscoUCS bios settings for multiple OS's including VMware - Updated 2012/12/31.
  3. Article: Running UCS Manager on the latest MAC OS's - Work-around for running UCS Manager on some versions of the MAC OS. Added 2012/10/30.
  4. Article: Creating a new keyring certificate for UCS Manager - Steps to reset the default keyring certiciate for #CiscoUCS manager. Added 2012/10/16.
  5. Article: Redundancy and availability scenarios for Cisco UCS - Testing #CiscoUCS internal and external availability and redundancy. Added 2012/10/08.
  6. Article: basic steps for setup - Summary of the steps I use to setup a UCS system that includes UCS Manager. Added 2012/09/12.
  7. Article: Disabling processor power management in Windows 2008 - How to turn Intel Speedstep off in the OS when a UCS bios policy can't. Added 2012/08/01.
  8. Article: Example switch configuration from a UCS to external LAN networks - ShowRun examples for switches attached to #CiscoUCS. - Added 2012/06/28.
  9. Article: Addressing and naming for objects in UCS Manager - Suggestions on how to be organized with your implementation - Added 2012/06/13.
  10. Article: VMware VCP Study tips and resources - Provides resources I used to study for my VCP-510 - Added 2012/02/27.
  11. Article: Suggested minimum setup checklist - Suggested hardware installation, configuration options, and redundancy tests for UCS. Added 2012/02/18.

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General Information: Details on multiple products including multi-product solutions, technical information, and support

General Product Information

  1. General information
  2. Cisco Worldwide Home page - Launching point for any Cisco information.
  3. Cisco Marketplace - The one stop shop for Cisco collateral, logo merchandise, Cisco Press books, software and learning network.
  4. Cisco Visio stencil collection - Download stencils for nearly any Cisco product.
  5. Cisco PDU stencil collection - Download stencils for Cisco PDU's.
  6. Cisco Partner Central - Find a partner, become a partner, or if you are a partner find additional information.

General Support Information

  1. Cisco Worldwide Contacts - For customers with contracts, Cisco provides around-the-clock, award-winning technical support services, online and by phone.
  2. TAC Service Request Tool - New Request - Open a case with Cisco TAC online.
  3. Cisco error message decoder - Tool to help research and resolve error messages for many Cisco products.
  4. Cisco community central - A group of communities for collaboration between Cisco employees, customers, users, and Cisco Partners.
  5. Cisco legal descriptions for services - Provides the full legal description for all standard services offerings.
  6. Accessing Cisco Technical Services - Effectively understand how to engage your technical support services from Cisco. Includes guides and training modules.
  7. Cisco Technical Services Quick Start Guide - Find how to fully use the services to help you proactively maintain Cisco technology health and operations.
  8. Cisco TS Delivery Quick Reference Guide - Support guide on accessing support online or by phone, process chart, severity levels, escalation process, etc.
  9. Cisco Service Availability Matrix - Service Availability Matrix (SAM) is used to verify the availability of Logistics and Field Engineering services worldwide.
  10. Cisco End of Product Life Cycle: Overview - Details End-of-support for Cisco products including UCS.
  11. Cisco Unified Computing Support and Warranty Services - Datasheet detailing service levels, support levels, and response time offerings.
  12. Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide - Brief product overviews, features, technical specifications, part numbers, and ordering information.
  13. Product License Registration - Register Cisco software of many types including UCS, UC, and other applications.

Data Center information including Unified Computing System (UCS), Nexus 1000v, and MDS

Data Center Product Information

  1. Unified Computing System (UCS) Information
  2. Cisco Unified Computing and Servers (UCS) - Unify your network, computing, and virtualization resources. Details on all UCS products.
  3. Cisco Unified Computing System - Next-generation server platform accelerates services delivery simply, reliably, and securely through end-to-end management.
  4. Cisco Overview of Unified Computing - Help your organization move into the next generation of data center technology and performance.
  5. Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers - Blade Server Innovation
  6. Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers - Models comparison - Compare features and functions of the various blade server models.
  7. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers - Unique Benefits in a Familiar Package.
  8. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers - Models comparison - Compare features and functions of the various rack server models.
  9. Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects - Centralized Management and I/O Consolidation
  10. Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects - Centralized Management and I/O Consolidation
  11. Cisco UCS Manager - Unifying and Embedding Management for Unified Computing.
  12. Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers Data Sheets - Learn product details such as features and benefits, as well as hardware and software specifications.
  13. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers Data Sheets - Learn product details such as features and benefits, as well as hardware and software specifications.
  14. Cisco IT's UCS highlevel overview on YouTube - Video on how Cisco IT is using UCS for production environments.
  15. Cisco Interactive Model of Unified Computing System - Get a 3D overview of the UCS hardware solution.
  16. Cisco joins OpenStack Community - Cisco is now supporting the open source cloud initiative. Great to have a great API.
  17. Cisco UCS Express - Enables multiple virtual servers to run on dedicated x86 blades in the ISR G2 chassis generally at remote sites.
  18. Cisco Quick Catalog - Explore Cisco products and create, save and export a Presale Estimates. Initially Cisco and Partners only. Customer access later.
  19. Nexus 1000v Information
  20. Cisco Nexus 1000v home - Starting point for all product information on Nexus 1000v
  21. Cisco Nexus 1010 appliance home - Purpose-built appliance for hosting viritualized network components.
  22. Cisco Virtual Security Gateway - Virtual security appliance for Nexus 1000v
  23. Cisco Virtual Network Management Center - Virtual network management for Nexus 1000v
  24. Wide Area Application Services - WAN optimization appliances with scaled performance, Integrated Services Routers, and cloud-ready virtual appliances.
  25. Cisco Prime Network Analysis Module (NAM) for Nexus 1010 - Offers traffic and performance analysis capabilities to troubleshoot issues and ensure optimal use of network resources in a VM network.
  26. Case Studies
  27. Case Study: Nexus & UCS case study for University Health Systems in Texas - Details the successes with Nexus and UCS

Data Center Support Information

  1. Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) support - Find support details on UCS.
  2. Cisco Unified Computing Services - Details the standard services offerings available for UCS.
  3. Cisco Support Comminities for Data Center & Cloud - Conversation on all topics related to implementing, managing and evolving data center environments.
  4. Cisco Support Community for Unified Computing - Lots of UCS technical information on how to architect, setup, and use UCS. Forum based.
  5. Cisco Support Community for Nexus 1000v - All kinds of technical information on the Nexus 1000v.
  6. Cisco Support Community for UCS User Groups - Join your Cisco UCS User Group peers in discussing issues and sharing resources.

Technical Information

  1. Cisco UCS Information
  2. Cisco Unified Computing System documents - Detailed documentation on UCS
  3. Cisco UCS B-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap - Links to most of the documentation associated with the B-Series platform
  4. Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap - Links to most of the documentation associated with the C-Series rack server platform
  5. Cisco UCS B-Series configuration guides - B-Series guides including instructions on installing Windows, Linux, and VMware manually on a UCS servers.
  6. Cisco UCS C-Series configuration guides - C-Series guides including instructions on installing Windows, Linux, and VMware manually on a UCS servers.
  7. Cisco UCS interoperability matrix list - Detailed UCS compatibility information for hardware and software.
  8. Cisco UCS Storage Interoperability Matrix - Detailed UCS storage compatibility information for hardware and software.
  9. Cisco UCS Site Preparation Guide - Describes the power and physical technical specifications for the Cisco UCS components.
  10. Cisco UCS Manager Release Notes - Provides information about caveats for each release including Cisco UCS Manager GUI, firmware, and and drivers.
  11. Common Tips in UCS Firmware Management - This document presents some common tips to simplify your daily firmware management process.
  12. Cisco UCS Manager Configuration Examples and TechNotes - Detailed documentation on how to configuring advanced solution scenarios.
  13. Cisco UCS Power calculator - Estimate power consumption of a configuration. Not intended for comparisons of results from competitive power tools.
  14. Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility (SCU) overview - Tool to assists in OS install on C-Series servers along with drivers versions for Cisco supported devices.
  15. Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility (SCU) download - Assists in OS installation on UCS C-Series rack servers with correct drivers for supported devices.
  16. Cisco UCS Manager B-Series Troubleshooting Guide - Documentation to assist in the identification and resolution of problems in a UCS environment.
  17. Resetting UCS Interconnects to factory defaults - Useful when getting ready to turn in a demo or when starting a new demo with re-purposed hardware.
  18. Instructions on Recovering a Lost Password - Useful when you do not know the password that was setup previously.
  19. Whitepaper: Designing and Deploying a Cisco Unified Computing System SAN Using Cisco MDS 9000 Family Switches - Setup your MDS and UCS correctly.
  20. Whitepaper: Cisco Unified Computing System BIOS Settings - Tuning for Performance: Guide for several M3 series Blade and Rack Servers.
  21. Whitepaper: Cisco 10 Gigabit Ethernet with RDMA Compared to QDR InfiniBand - Shows 10GB performance compared to Infiniband.
  22. UCS Manager GUI configuration Guide: Licensing - You want to find the version of this guide that corresponds to the version you are using.
  23. Cisco UCS Central Information
  24. UCS Central Best Practices Guide - Uunderstand the procedures and impacts for adopting UCS Central and its centralized policy management framework.

Data Center Downloads

  1. Cisco UCS General Downloads
  2. UCS Download Software - Parent page to all UCS downloads.
  3. Cisco UCS B-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software Downloads
  4. Cisco UCS B-Series Downloads category listing - Documentation, Drivers, Software, and Utilities.
  5. Cisco UCS Infrastructure and UCS Manager Software - A bundle including all UCS software upgradable through UCS Manager.
  6. Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software - Software for the UCS B-Series blade server products
  7. Cisco UCS B-Series drivers - ISO image of UCS-related drivers
  8. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software Downloads
  9. Cisco UCS C-Series UCS Manager Integrated Server Software - Software for the UCS C-Series server products
  10. Cisco UCS B-Series Rack-Mount Standalone Server Software Downloads
  11. Cisco UCS C-Series Standalone Server Software - Software for the UCS C-Series server products
  12. Cisco UCS Documentation Roadmap Bundle - An ISO image of UCS documentation
  13. Cisco UCS C-Series Drivers - ISO image of UCS-related drivers
  14. Cisco UCS Utilities: VMware - ISO image of VMware utils for C-series UCS.
  15. Cisco UCS Utilities: EFI - ISO image of EFI utils for C-series UCS.
  16. Cisco UCS Utilities: Linux - ISO image of Linux utils for C-series UCS.
  17. Cisco UCS Utilities: Windows - ISO image of Windows utils for C-series UCS.

Data Center Cisco Developer Network Resources

  1. Cisco Developer Network - CDN provides the tools, resources, and community to help drive your success.
  2. Cisco Developer Network Announcement - Expanded and enhanced technical support, marketing, and sales enablement resources.
  3. Cisco UCS XML API - Full documentation on the UCS XML API including programmers guides, training videos, and other resources.
  4. Cisco UCS Management Emulator (UCSPE) - Eeveloped to enable the use of Cisco UCS Manager and the UCS XML API without physical hardware.
  5. Cisco UCS Test Lab Sandbox - Test applications on real UCS hardware via a cloud hosting provider. Upon Cisco approval you can schedule time and login.
  6. Cisco UCS Automation Tool (goUCS) - Toolkit to automate UCS management quickly and simply.
  7. Cisco UCS Powershell Library - UCS PowerTool (PowerShell Toolkit) - The Microsoft PowerShell command line interface to UCS.
  8. Cisco UCS Dashboard - A web application that collects inventory and fault information and provides a read-only view into multiple Cisco UCS domains.
  9. Cisco UCS SNMP/MIB's - Download the UCS Manager SNMP MIB.
  10. Cisco UCS Developer Guides - Documentation on how to work with UCS as a developer
  11. XML Schema - Detailed supporting files and documentation.
  12. Cisco UCS PowerTool Example Scripts & Automation Examples - Several Sample scripts that can be used with PowerShell on UCS.
  13. UCS Management for vCenter Plugin - Connect and integrate UCS Manager to vCenter.

Data Center Training and Education Information

  1. Data Center Technical Webinar Series - Free Data Center Technical Webinars and Recordings from Cisco.
  2. CCNA Data Center Study Group - Link to a study group for CCNA Data Center Studies
  3. Cisco - Cisco Training and Events
  4. Fastlane - Cisco courses
  5. Firefly Communications - Class schedules
  6. Global Knowledge - Global Knowledge Cisco Data Center Training
  7. Skyline - Cisco Data Center courses

If you offer Cisco UCS education courses, send a link using the site submit function and I will review and add if appropriate.

Data Center Partner and 3rd party information

  1. VCE information
  2. VCE Coalition Partner Portal - Resources to sell, design, deploy and operate Vblock Architectures
  3. EMC Information
  4. Partnerships: Technology Alliances (Cisco) - Cisco is one of EMC's most strategic alliance partners.
  5. Cisco Scalability Study for Deploying VMware View on Cisco UCS and EMC Symmetrix V-Max Systems - Name says it all.
  6. NetApp Information
  7. imaginevirtuallyanything.com - Cisco, NetApp, and VMware alliance portal - These leaders have teamed up to deliver next-generation dynamic data centers.
  8. Deploying Secure Multi-Tenancy into Virtualized Data Centers - Reference design combining UCS, VMware, and Netapp with implementation info & examples.
  9. Data Center Designs: Cloud Computing - FlexPod - Cisco FlexPod landing page.
  10. DC Partner - NetApp - Cisco NetApp partnership landing page
  11. Intel Information
  12. Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Sequence - Intel's product model summary listing page.
  13. Intel® Xeon® Processor 6000 Sequence - Intel's product model summary listing page.
  14. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 Family - Intel's product model summary listing page.
  15. Intel® Xeon® Processor Family - Intel's product model summary listing page for all Xeon® server processors.
  16. Intel® 5500 series model listing - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  17. Intel® 5600 series model listing - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  18. Intel® 6500 series model listing - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  19. Intel® 7500 series model listing - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  20. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-2800 Series - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  21. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-4800 Series - Intel's product model specific specification summary and model listing page.
  22. Intel Server CPU Performance Summary - Subsite that details the top performance benchmarks using Intel CPU's.
  23. Simplify VMware vSphere* 4 Networking with Intel® Ethernet 10 Gigabit Server Adapters - Use fewer network connections with VMware using 10GB.
  24. VMware Information
  25. VMware Compatibility Guides - Certified Compatibility Guides including supported hardware, software, guest operating systems, and host operating systems.
  26. VMware VMmark, Application Performance in a Virtualized Environment - Compare performance for VMware between different servers
  27. VMware VMmark 2.0, Virtualization Platform Benchmark - Next generation benchmarks from VMware.
  28. VMware ROI TCO Calculator - Estimate the savings from using VMware products like ESX server and VMware View.
  29. VMware / Cisco ESXi 4.1 OEM Disk - Downloadable version of ESXi 4.1 optimized for use on Cisco servers.
  30. VMware / Cisco ESXi 5.1 OEM Disk - Downloadable version of ESXi 5.1 optimized for use on Cisco servers.
  31. vCenter Orchestrator Plug-In for Cisco UCS Manager - Automatically deploy servers in UCS including all server and network settings and firmware.
  32. Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC) processor support - Shows supported VMotion including CPU support requirements.
  33. VMware Integrating Cisco UCS with vSphere Distributed Power Management - Directions on integrating UCS into VMware DPM.
  34. NetApp whitepaper: VMware vSphere and ESX 3.5 Multiprotocol Performance Comparison Using FC, iSCSI, and NFS - Whitepaper on protocols for VMware.
  35. Cisco Solutions for a VMware View 4.0 Environment Design Guide - Design and configuration document for network engineers and architects.
  36. vReference.com - Guides, links and news for VMware and virtualization technologies. Reference cards are quite useful.
  37. VMware Land - List of VMware related links
  38. VMware View Optimization Guide for Windows 7 - Create Microsoft Windows 7 Desktop OS images optimized for VMware View.
  39. VMware Technical Resource Center: Technical Papers Home - Find technical papers on most VMware products.
  40. VMware Technical Papers: VMware View 5 Performance and Best Practices - How to optimize VMware View
  41. View XP/Win7 image optimization information/links - Link listing for desktop OS optimization resources.
  42. VMware® View™ 4 to PCoIP® Zero Client Optimization Guide - Optimize PCoIP.
  43. Windows XP Deployment Guide - Guide to deploying Windows XP on View.
  44. Windows XP Deployment Guide - Another XP deployment guide for VMware View
  45. How to: Optimize guests for VMware View - THIRD PARTY LINK - Another view of OS optimizations for View.
  46. Vmware View Windows XP optimization - THIRD PARTY LINK - Another view of OS optimizations for View.
  47. VMware Player - Free virtualization platform. Perfect for UCSPE Emulator
  48. VMware Virtual Storage Appliance (VSA) - Used for providing resilient solutions at smaller or remote sites. Included with essentials plus.
  49. Microsoft Information
  50. Cisco and Microsoft Joint Marketing Page - Cisco and Microsoft joint marketing information with references to other Microsoft related resources.
  51. Microsoft Windows Server Catalog - Designed, Certified for or Works with Windows Server (aka HCL).
  52. Cisco UCS Manager Management Pack for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager R2 Quick Start Guide
  53. Windows Sysinternals - Makers of some great tools including one of my favorites - Bginfo
  54. Citrix Information
  55. Citrix article: Scottsdale Community College chalks up success with end-to-end virtualization - VDI case study in education.
  56. Other Partner Information – IBM, BMC, CA, SAP, Hitachi, APC, Atlantis, Others
  57. Cisco Datacenter product partner: BMC - Details the partnership with BMC Software to provision, configure, and manage UCS.
  58. BMC Solutions for Cisco Unified Computing System - Integrates an advanced computing infrastructure with management and automation.
  59. IBM Tivoli Monitoring for Cisco UCS Health Scripts - Integrates UCS into an IBM Tivoli Monitoring (ITM) and Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbusadvanced.
  60. SAP benchmark details - Results and scores of benchmarks for performance comparison purposes.
  61. Storage Reference Architecture (SRA) information - SRA is a reference architecture that incorporates products from Hitachi, Cisco, and VMware.
  62. Cisco: Powering the Dynamic Data Center with CA Technologies - Highlights integration of CA and Cisco products from multiple areas.
  63. DC Partner CA Technologies - Integration of CA Technologies' automation and service assurance capabilities with Cisco portfolio.
  64. MSP - Cloud Enable Existing Environment - The solution for Automated, Managed and Secured across the Infrastructure, Application and Services Layers.
  65. UCS with OpenKVM: Virtual Core Solution - KAMP Netzwerk Systems is running and selling a low-cost cloud-solution on Open KVM with UCS.
  66. APC Whitepapers - A list of whitepapers that are related to various APC products including some that provide details about Cisco products including UCS.
  67. APC products for Cisco Unified Computing System Blade Applications - Recommendations for enclosures, power distribution, and cable management for UCS.
  68. Atlantis Computing Home page - Provides solutions to accelerate VDI disk IO and substantially reduce VDI storage requirement and cost.
  69. Cisco Unified Computing System, Citrix XenDesktop, and Atlantis ILIO Whitepaper - ILIO eliminates bottlenecks enabling better VDI performance at lower cost.
  70. Cisco, Citrix and Atlantis Computing Reference Architecture - ILIO eliminates bottlenecks enabling better VDI performance at lower cost.
  71. Sales partner Information – The following links REQUIRE a partner associated cisco.com ID
  72. Partner Central: Incentives and Promotions - Current promotions for many Cisco products.
  73. Partner Central: Cisco Smart Plays and Solution Packs (partners only) - View the current SmartPlay promotions.
  74. 3rd party Information – Other 3rd party information from companies or individuals that are not officially partnered with Cisco for a product
  75. SiMU - Simple iPhone Monitoring of UCS - iPhone/iPad app used to assist the monitoring on a UCS system
  76. SiMU - Simple iPhone Monitoring of UCS iTunes page - iPhone/iPad app used to assist the monitoring on a UCS system
  77. UCS Tech Specs - iPhone/iPad reference app containing the latest specifications for UCS products. See technical spec and component options.
  78. UCSand - Android App provides a GUI for monitoring a Cisco UCS blade system to showcase the XML-API of UCS-Manager
  79. UCShow - Android App to monitor Cisco UCS. Displays status and health of hardware components, of services profiles and policies and the errors and faults.
  80. Third-party PDU information - Information on powering the Cisco Unified Computing System with various in-feed power types for full redundancy.
  81. Electricity around the world - Tutorial and information about worldwide electrical standards.
  82. stayonline.com - Power and data connectivity related products and info (connectors and special cables).
  83. Digi Anywhere USB - USB Over IP® connects USB devices anywhere on a wired or wireless LAN. Great for blades and VM's.
  84. Wyse PC Extender - Software designed to create advanced thin-desktop infrastructures from legacy PC assets.
  85. DevonIT VDI Blaster - Turns nearly any PC (even old ones) into full function Thin clients.
  86. STEC Mach16 SSD SLC Drive - OEM maker of some excellent SSD's used by sever and storage hardware manufacturers.
  87. Serverracks.com - Cisco’s Slide Rail Kit for UCS C200, C210, & C250 - 3rd party rails to allow the great UCS rails work in 2 post and threaded hole racks.
  88. nLite - Windows Installation Customizer - Tool for pre-installation configuration, driver integration, and component removal. Optional bootable image output.
  89. 7-Zip - Another great tool for working with compressed files. Also perfect for the UCSPE Emulator.
  90. Firewall.cx - Cisco Technical & Security KnowledgeBase - The site for networking professionals.
  91. IP Subnet Calculator - Calculate using network class, IP address, subnet mask, subnet bits, mask bits, maximum IP subnets and max hosts per subnet.
  92. Nimble Storage SmartStack for VDI with Cisco and VMware - Cisco, Nimble Storage, and VMware make cost-effective VDI a reality for IT organizations.

Data Center Media (Videos and other multimedia resources)

  1. Cisco YouTube video channel - Various different videos covering many different Cisco product lines.
  2. Cisco YouTube Data Center Channel - Lots of videos related to Cisco Data Center products like UCS, MDS, Nexus, etc.
  3. Cisco YouTube Datacenter2009 channel - Videos about Cisco's Datacenter product offerings including switches, computing, and apps.
  4. Cisco Nexus 1000V YouTube videos - See different kind of videos providing overviews, installation, and use of the Cisco Nexus 1000V virtual switch for VMware.
  5. Video: The Worst Predictions in History - Overview video comparing HP's predictions about UCS to the reality. It's pretty funny.
  6. Video: Adding a chassis to Cisco UCS - Part 1 - See the work, steps, and time to add a chassis and servers from the box to a running OS in 25:30.
  7. Video: Adding a chassis to Cisco UCS - Part 2 - See the work, steps, and time to add a chassis and servers from the box to a running OS in 25:30.
  8. UCS Advantage Video Series - Home page for the series of videos listed below.
    1. Video: Cisco UCS Advantage (10:55 min) - Get an overview of the Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS).
    2. Video: Cisco UCS Blades Outpace HP (4.19 min) - UCS requires less time and fewer steps than HP. 14 steps/3:46/19:58 vs 42 steps/37:40/37:40.
    3. Video: S-1: Service Profiles and Templates (8:48 min) - Learn how to grow, shrink, and archive bare metal servers on a unified infrastructure.
    4. Video: S-17: Organizations and Roles (4:52 min) - Organize hardware, service tiers, profiles, and administration on the same infrastructure.
    5. Video: S-16: Extended Memory Technology (7:56 min) - Get better balance and save on server, memory, and software costs.
    6. Video: S-2: Server Pre-Provisioning (4:40 min) - Provision for data, storage, firmware, and more before equipment delivery.
    7. Video: S-3: BIOS Policies (4:31 min) - Manage BIOS firmware versions and settings on a per-service basis.
    8. Video: S-4: RAID Policies (6:17 min) - Configure local storage controller firmware versions on a per-service basis.
    9. Video: S-5: Firmware Policies (7:58 min) - Learn how the UCS supports server firmware packages on a per-service basis.
    10. Video: S-7: Server Pools and Qualification Policies (9:54 min) - Add new hardware assets to the infrastructure and assign them to service tiers.
    11. Video: S-9: Maintenance Policies (8:04 min) - Automatically schedule or manually start system maintenance within Cisco UCS.
    12. Video: S-10: High Availability During Upgrades (17:12 min) - Discover how to change system firmware to maximize service availability.
    13. Video: S-13: Monitoring with BMC BPPM (6:03 min) - Learn how to natively monitor the Cisco UCS infrastructure with BMC tools.
    14. Video: S-14: Microsoft Hyper-V on UCS (4:37 min) - Explore how to support a Microsoft Hyper-V infrastructure on the Cisco UCS.
    15. Video: I-3: Adapter Templates (12:49 min) - Pre-configure Ethernet and storage adapters for bare metal and virtual servers.
    16. Video: I-4: Network Interface Virtualization (12:15 min) - Virtualize network and storage fabric interfaces into the bare metal server.
    17. Video: I-5: Adapter Fabric Failover (5:51 min) - See how Cisco UCS architecture with fabric failover offers highly available interfaces.
    18. Video: I-6: Extend the Network to the Virtual Machine (8:44 min) - Eliminate virtual switching on hosts with virtual machine fabric extender (VM-FEX).
    19. Video: I-7: Traffic Analysis of All Servers (10:43 min) - Examine traffic flows for network and storage on physical and virtual servers.
    20. Video: I-8: Ethernet Switching Modes (11:52 min) - Discover the data forwarding capabilities within the Cisco UCS architecture.
    21. Video: I-9: Fibre Channel and Switch Modes (12:38 min) - Learn about Cisco UCS Fibre Channel forwarding capabilities and modes.
    22. Video: I-10: FC Port Channels and Trunking (6:59 min) - Learn how to provide greater Fibre Channel flexibility.
    23. Video: Infra-1: Lights-Out Management (9:56 min) - Allow IT staff to manage remotely and facilities personnel to manage on site.
    24. Video: Infra-2: Easy VM-FEX Deployment (11:36 min) - Easily add VM-FEX deployment to the Cisco UCS infrastructure.
    25. Video: Infra-3: Blade and Rack-Mount Management (5:46 min) - Learn about the management of Cisco UCS blades and rack-mount servers.
    26. Video: Infra-4: Server Power Grouping (8:13 min) - Use power more efficiently at the system level and adhere to service levels.
    27. Video: Infra-6: Cisco UCS Manager Platform Emulator (5:14 min) - Set up a virtual Cisco UCS system to test configurations and scripts.
    28. Video: Infra-7: Cisco Developer Network and Sandbox (5:14 min) - Discover Cisco UCS management capabilities, XML schema, code samples, and more.

Data Center in the press and other articles, blogs, and internet sources

  1. Media and Press
  2. GE Unveils Platinum LEED®-Certified Data Center – a Sustainable Investment Supporting Global Business Growth - Video of a new data center with UCS.
  3. Channel Register: Server biz saves Cisco profits by Timothy Prickett Morgan - Article about UCS contribution to the financial results for Cisco's FQ1-2012.
  4. UCS Users Groups
  5. Cisco Support Community for UCS User Groups - Join your Cisco UCS User Group peers in discussing issues and sharing resources.
  6. UCS Users Group Linked-In page - Atlanta - Find out when and where the next users group meeting will be and topics that may be covered.
  7. There are quite a few cities withUCS Users Groups. If you have details on how they communicate about the meetings, let me know at Submit page.
  8. Social Media Blogs and similar resources
  9. Cisco Data Center and Cloud Blogs - Official blog around UCS, MDS, Nexus, and other Cisco Data Center products.
  10. UCS Facebook page - UCS Facebook page
  11. Cisco Quicklinks Datacenter Tip Listing - Added my own "blog" style section where I can publish my own musings, tips, and detail.
    1. Note: Quicklinks tips have moved to their own page at [[Quicklinks/Tips-Datacenters - Use the page linked here to see the latest tips.. Added 2012/12/28.
  12. M. Sean McGee - Blog By Sean McGee - Super UCS Expert.
    1. Article: UCS 2.0: Cisco Stacks the Deck in Las Vegas - Added 2011/07/15.
    2. Article: The Tale of Two Cisco UCS Predictions - Added 2011/05/25.
    3. Article: Cisco UCS B-Series NIC Teaming & Bonding OS Support Matrices - Added 2011/05/17.
    4. Article: The Cisco UCS Advantage Series - Added 2011/04/07.
    5. Article: Cisco’s Stocking Stuffer for UCS Customers: Firmware Release 1.4(1) - Added 2010/12/20.
    6. Article: Cisco UCS Case Studies and References - Added 2010/10/26.
    7. Article: The Cisco UCS B230 – the Goldilocks Blade Server - Updated 2011/05/06.
    8. Article: Great Minds Think Alike – Cisco and VMware Agree On Sharing vs. Limiting - Added 2010/09/13.
    9. Article: Cisco UCS B-Series Server Network Adapter Options Overview - Added 2010/09/12.
    10. Article: Virtual Disconnect: Migrating from HP BladeSystem to Cisco UCS - Added 2010/08/26.
    11. Article: The Real Story About the UCS Automobile - Added 2010/07/23.
    12. Article: The “Mini-Rack” Approach To Blade Server Design - Added 2010/05/03.
    13. Article: The State of Statelessness: Cisco UCS vs. HP Virtual Connect - Added 2010/04/05.
  13. JeffSaidSo blog by Jeff Allen - Another UCS Super Expert "What do you say?".
    1. Article: UCS Boot-from-SAN Troubleshooting with the Cisco VIC (Part 2) - Added 2012/02/13.
    2. Article: Password Recovery in Cisco UCS - Added 2011/10/10.
    3. Article: 8 Cool Features You May Not Know About in UCS Manager - Added 2011/09/28.
    4. Article: Schizophrenia and SchizoHPrenia - Added 2011/08/22.
    5. Article: Cisco UCS Ports and Protocols - Added 2011/06/02.
    6. Article: Cisco UCS Market Share – Q1 2011 - Added 2011/05/25.
    7. Article: UCS Chassis Discovery Policy - Added 2011/05/17.
    8. Article: Server Management Software Survey Results - Added 2011/04/18.
    9. Article: What Server Vendor Management Software Do You Use? - Added 2011/02/10.
    10. Article: Cisco QuickLinks – Finding Cisco UCS info…FAST! - Added 2011/01/31.
    11. Article: Providing feedback on Cisco UCS Documentation - Added 2011/01/31.
    12. Article: UCS Only Runs at 10 GE and Requires Nexus – NOT! - Added 2010/12/09.
    13. Article: UCS BIOS Policies - Added 2010/11/17.
    14. Article: Boot from SAN 101 with Cisco UCS - Added 2010/11/09.
  14. Vallard's Tech Notes Blog - Enterprise Datacenter Management Voodoo
    1. Article: UCS Monitoring Part 1: Collecting and Analyzing UCSM Data - Collecting data from UCS. Added 2012/09/17.
    2. Article: UCS Monitoring Part 2: Alerts for Bandwidth - Another great bandwidth article. Added 2012/09/17.
    3. Article: Cisco UCS Role Based Access Control - Here’s how the main IT organization might configure RBAC Added 2012/03/27.
    4. Article: App crazy - Updates to the two Cisco apps: UCS Tech Specs, and FlexPod Tech Specs. Released the xCAT iOS client! Added 2012/02/05.
    5. Article: An adventure in Powershell and the vSphere PowerCLI - Describes using the CLI to perform various actions in VMware. Added 2012/01/17.
    6. Article: UCS Dashboard - Describes the installation and use of the free UCS Dashboard tool from Cisco. Added 2011/10/18.
    7. Article: xCAT r* commands with UCS - Describes how to use xCAT with UCS. Added 2011/10/03.
    8. Article: UCSM: Changing IP addresses (of UCS Fabric Interconnects via CLI rather than the GUI - Commands to change addresses. Added 2011/09/26.
    9. Article: UCS Login Banner - Describes how to display custom banners (or MOTDs) when people log into UCS Manager. Added 2011/09/22.
    10. Article: UCS 2.0 Software Update Notes - Describes update process and new features. Added 2011/09/20.
    11. Article: Be gentle, its my first time: Setting up a UCS Blade System from scratch - Describes the UCS setup process. Updated 2011/09/19.
    12. Article: This is Cisco’s vision of the Data Center - Descrives Cisco's approach to the Data Center, server connectivity, and virtualization. Added 2011/09/12.
    13. Article: UCS: The Soul of a Server - Describes how Cisco has dramatically simplified basic configuration of a server. Added 2011/09/09.
    14. Article: UCS: Changing Primary Fabric Interconnects - Methods for changing a Fabric Interconnect from Primary to Subordinate. Added 2011/09/07.
    15. Article: Cisco UCS + NetApp + MDS configuration Part 1 - Describes a solution setup. Added 2011/08/18.
    16. Article: UCS Tech Specs Blog announcement - Tool for finding specs of UCS servers. Like for the tool elsewhere on this site/page. Added 2011/08/12
    17. Article: UCS Tech Specs Status/Project page - Tool for finding specs of UCS servers. Like for the tool elsewhere on this site/page. Added 2011/08/12
    18. Article: F Port-Channel Trunking vs. Non Trunking - Describes methods for connecting UCS to SAN environments. Added 2011/08/11.
    19. Article: vSphere 5 Licensing fun - Discusses the VMware licensing model changes with vSphere 5. Added 2011/07/15.
    20. Article: One of my favorite features of Cisco UCS: BIOS in service profiles - Describes bios policies in UCS Manager. Added 2011/06/22.
    21. Article: New Adventures: Hello Cisco - Discusses why Vallard moved to Cisco to work with UCS. Added 2011/05/30.
    22. Article: UCS emulator on ESXi - Describes the UCS Emulator and some methods for converting to ESXi. Added 2011/05/06.
    23. Cisco Blog - Cisco Product Manager, FCoE - Storage - Product Marketing
  15. ciscoservergeek blog by Scott Hanson - Musings on Cisco UCS from the artist formerly known as DellServerGeek .. the correct way to do x86 servers
    1. Article: Making the Cisco UCS Light "Click" - How to help bring an understanding to people unfamiliar with Cisco UC. Added 2011/06/13.
  16. Jason Nash's Blog - Just one guy’s opinion and hopefully some helpful information. Sr. Solutions Architect at Varrow.
    1. Article: Cisco UCS M3 and Intel Romley - Overview of Cisco's next-generation UCS products. Added 2012/03/08.
  17. ChrisAtkinson.com Blog - Great blog of a senior server engineer at Travelport, a leading Global Distribution Systems (GDS) company.
    1. Article: [U]n[C]over[S]tatelessness - Describes benefits of stateless servers with UCS service profiles. Added Added 2011/10/27
    2. Article: Your inventory, your faults and your motorcycle – give them to me NOW! - Methods to inventory and see faults in UCS. Added 2011/10/12
    3. Article: A day in the life with Cisco UCS… - Outstanding customer overview of how UCS made a difference in his environment. Added 2011/10/10
  18. Blades Made Simple Blog - Making blade servers simple
    1. Article: HP Flex 10 vs VMware vSphere Network I/O Control for VDI - Why HP Flex 10 and VirtualConnect aren't great for VDI. Added 2011/12/16.
    2. Article: Blade Chassis I/O Diagrams - Describes blade architecture differences between vendors. Added 2011/07/15.
  19. The Unified Computing Blog - Everything related to Cisco's Unified Computing System
    1. Article: FCoE vs. iSCSI vs. NFS - Discusses the advantages and weaknesses of each storage strategy. Added 201//08/18
    2. Article: UCSM 1.4 : Maintenance Policies and Schedules - Discusses how UCS can further improve server maintenance. Added 2011/01/17.
    3. Article: Placement of mezzanine adapters in full width blades - Describes optimal placement and strategies. Added 2010/07/10.
  20. By The Bell Blog by Steve Kaplan - INX expert focused on Data Center technology
    1. Article: The Why of VDI - use cases - Discusses when and where VDI makes sense. Added 2011/11/16.
    2. Article: The Why of VDI - Why desktop virtuilization is taking hold. Added 2011/09/08.
    3. Article: Cisco UCS shatters the data center status quo - Discusses why UCS is changing the data center. Added 2011/05/26.
    4. Article: VDI vs. SBC: ROI case study - Compares VDI to SBC (Server Based Computing). Added 2010/12/19.
    5. Article: VXI: Phase 2 of Cisco's virtualization strategy - Discusses how Cisco is changing VDI for the better. Added 2010/11/23.
    6. Article: Cisco targets virtual desktop ROI with VXI - Discusses how Cisco is changing VDI for the better. Added 2010/11/15.
  21. Cloud Computing Blog - Cloud Computing and Data Center Technology
    1. Article: Server Networking With gen 2 UCS Hardware - Discusses new UCS hardware, features, functions, and capabilities. Added 2011/10/22.
    2. Article: Redundancy in Data Storage: Part 2: Geographical Replication - Discusses storage replication strategies. Added 2011/02/21.
    3. Article: Inter-Fabric Traffic in UCS–Part II - Discusses traffic flows with Cisco UCS. Added 2011/01/03.
    4. Article: Redundancy in Data Storage: Part 1: RAID Levels - Added 2010/12/13.
    5. Article: Inter-Fabric Traffic in UCS–Part I - Discusses traffic flows with Cisco UCS. Added 2010/11/01.
    6. Article: Networking Showdown: UCS vs. HP Virtual Connect (Updated) - Compares Cisco UCS to HP VirtualConnect. Added 2010/08/10.
    7. Article: UCS Server Failover - Discussion of high-availability networking in Cisco UCS. Added 2010/06/12.
    8. Article: Why Cisco UCS is my ‘A-Game’ Server Architecture - Discussion of the benefits and advantages of Cisco UCS. Added 2010/05/23.
  22. ViewYonder Blog - Provoking IT from Good to Great
    1. Article: What if a VCE Vblock Platform turned the VDI iceberg into ice cubes? - Update on VDI discussion article. Added 2011/09/06.
    2. Article: Fish the UCS API pool with Wireshark - Added 2010/09/19
    3. Article: What if a VCE Vblock Platform turned the VDI iceberg into ice cubes? - Added 20110906
  23. UCSTECH Blog - Blog
    1. Article: Cisco UCS 2.0 (1M) Release - Discusses features and functions of a UCS firmware release. Added 27, 2011/09/27.
    2. Article: Qos on UCS - Discusses how to implement Qos settings in UCS. Added 2011/06/02.
    3. Article: When to use updating templates on vNICS or vHBAs - Discusses considerations of updating templates for LAN and SAN. Added 2010/10/04.
    4. Article: Manual failover via command line - Discusses how to fail primary management role from to the subordinate Fabric Interconnect. Added 2010/10/04.
  24. Virtual Geek Blog - An insider's perspective, technical tips n' tricks in the era of the VMware Revolution
    1. Article: EMC Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM) v3.0–Hello World! - Discussion and video DEMO of UIM 3.0. Added 2011/10/19.
  25. Bill Carter Blog - Includes Virtualization, Data Center, and Networking topics.
    1. Article: Cisco UCS-C Servers Rack Mounting Adapter Kit - Describes 3rd party rail kit for 2post and threaded hole racks. Added 2011/09/29.
    2. Article: VMware ESXi 4.1 Optimizations for Cisco UC on UCS - Describes settings to configure in ESXi for Cisco UC applications. Added 2011/09/26.
    3. Article: Cisco UC on UCS - Don't Forget VMware Tools - Describes advantages of VMware tools with Cisco UC applications. Added 2011/09/19.
  26. Doug's Linux Lab - This page is designed to quickly configure a Cisco Unified Computing System pod via the XML API.
    1. Tool: UCS-Builder - This page is designed to quickly configure a Cisco Unified Computing System pod via the XML API. Added 2011/10/22.
  27. WWT Datacenter Services Team Blog - Team's Ramblings about Server, Desktop, and Application Virtualization, Cloud Computing, and other fun stuff.
    1. Article: Configuring iSCSI Boot on a FlexPod - Article describing now to iSCSI boot. Added 2011/12/29.
    2. Article: Cisco UCS PTS vs 1000v - Comparison of the setup and use of PTS model vs Nexus 1000v in VMware. Added 2011/03/01.
    3. Article: nstalling a XenDesktop 5 Proof of Concept - Describes how to do a POC with XenDesktop 5. Added 2011/02/18.
    4. Article: Nexus 1000v Install via GUI - Overview of the installation instructions on installing Nexus 1000v. Added January 21, 2011/01/21.
    5. Article: UCS Host Firmware Packages - Host Firmware Packages within UCS and their use and setup. Added 2011/01/12.
    6. Article: Windows 2003 and Cisco UCS - Describes Windows 2003 and UCS. Added 2010/10/01.
    7. Article: Stateless Desktops? - Describes advantages, disadvantages, and process of using stateless desktops. Added 2010/08/31.
    8. Article: UCS WWN and MAC Pools - Describes some methods of configuration and use of pools in UCS. Added 2010/07/22.
    9. Article: Collapsing Server Management Points with UCS - Introduction to VMware PTS switch mode. Added 2010/06/22.
  28. Jeremy Waldrop's Blog - Everything Virtual (Varrow)
    1. Article: Cisco UCS 6248 Unified Port Configuration - Describes some UCS Gen2 Fabric Interconnect capabilities and setup. Added 2011/11/09.
    2. Article: Cisco UCS Firmware Update vs Activate - Describes UCS firmware step differences. Added 2011/06/27.
    3. Article: VMware SRM Testing on Cisco UCS with Routing - Describes how to setup SRM failover testing with UCS. Added 2011/05/09.
    4. Article: Cisco UCS Service Profile Coolness - Great perspective on how UCS Service Profiles simplify deployment and maintenance. Added 2010/11/11.
    5. Article: Sample script for automating the installation of ESXi 4.1 on Cisco UCS with UDA - Simplify VMware install on UCS. Added 2010/09/19.
    6. Article: Cisco UCS vNIC/vHBA Placement policies - How to determine an optimal placement policy with full-width blades. Added 2010/08/26.
    7. Article: Cisco UCS Ethernet Frame Flows - Describes how traffic flows through Cisco UCS. Added 2010/06/30.
    8. Article: Cisco UCS Server Pools: Configuration - Discusses how to setup and use server pools in UCS Manager. Added 2010/06/08.
    9. Article: Cisco UCS Server Pools: Use Cases - Discusses why you would use server pools in UCS. Added 2010/06/08.
    10. Article: How to Enable CDP On Cisco UCS vNICs - The how and why's of enabling CDP on vNIC's presented to the OS. Added 2010/05/03.
    11. Article: Cisco UCS VN-Link Hardware Implementation Walk Through? - Describes PTS switching and it's setup with UCS. Added 2010/03/25.
    12. Article: Cisco UCS Manager Equipment Tab Video Walkthrough - Describes how to view your hardware in UCS. Added 2010/03/23.
    13. Article: Cisco UCS vNIC Failover - Describes how Fabric Failover is better than network teaming software and how it works. Added 2010/03/18.
  29. Quantum Networking! - My views about Network Virtualization, Network Security and Networking in general
    1. Article: Kindergarten QoS of UCSM - Describes in detail how to use QoS in UCS. Added 2011/09/24.
    2. Article: UCS management paradigm - Describes how UCS management works. Added 2011/09/09.
    3. Article: Network Virtualization in Cisco's UCS - Describes how UCS networking works and it's advantages. Added 2011/08/27.
  30. Geaux Virtual Blog by @juicelsu009 - Helping virtualize the data center
    1. Reconnecting ESX(i) hosts with 1000V installed - Shows how to fix ESXi with 1000v if they become disconnected to VirtualCenter. Added 2010/09/28.
    2. Article: Working with UCS and vCenter: IPMI Settings - Cool article around IPMI and PowerShell. Added 2010/09/20.
    3. Article: Working with the Cisco UCS XML API - Added 2010/09/19
  31. BrianRagazzi Blog - Cisco, EMC and VMware. Adventures in a VCE world (from Venture Technologies in Ridgeland, Mississippi)
    1. Article: VMware vSphere 5 AutoDeploy on Cisco UCS – Part 2: Image Profiles - Auto-deploy sweetness of UCS and ESX. Added 2011/12/27.
    2. Article: VMware vSphere 5 AutoDeploy on Cisco UCS – Part 1: DHCP - Getting ready for auto-deploy for ESX. Added 2011/12/19.
    3. Article: Cisco VN-Link is awesome - Feedback on using PTS mode for connectivity in VMware with UCS. Added 2011/01/18.
    4. Article: Cisco Nexus 1000V deployment - Describes experience in deploying Nexus 1000v. Added 2010/11/24.
  32. AngryJester's Blog ( Ryan Hughes ) - the rants of a data center crash test dummy - thoughts and views on the evolving cloud.
    1. Article: Cisco VIC Boot from SAN troubleshooting - Describes how to setup and resolve boot-from-san issues. Added 2010/01/05.
  33. DataCenterHawk Blog ~ tales about bridging the gap between networking and compute/storage
    1. Nexus 1000v – DMZ Private VLAN config example - The actual configuration of 1000v port-profiles when used in a DMZ environment. Added 2011/12/05.
    2. Nexus 5K’s – Above the Rack? - Shows installation of Nexus 5500's in a unique way, above the rack. Added 2011/11/22.
    3. Sniffing VM traffic – using Nexus 1000v and a virtual sniffer - Great example of using advanced Nexus 1000v for traffic monitoring. Added 2011/08/10.
  34. HealthITGuy's Blog - The evolving world of healthcare IT!
  35. blog.aarondelp.com Blog - Random Thoughts on Data Center Solutions and Architecture Design
  36. blog.scottlowe.org Blog - The weblog of an IT pro specializing in virtualization, storage, and servers
  37. Inside Cisco UCS blog by Robert Murray? - From the site: Mostly just links to Cisco UCS pages…

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