Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) : A Complete Reference Guide to the Cisco Data Center Virtualization Server Architecture

With its new Unified Computing System (UCS) family of products, Cisco has introduced a fundamentally new vision for data center computing: one that promises to reduce ownership cost, improve agility, and radically simplify management. In this book, three Cisco insiders explain UCS, and offer practical insights for IT professionals and decision-makers who are evaluating UCS or preparing to implement it. The authors begin by reviewing the evolution of the data center server. They discuss the growing impact of virtualization, unified I/O, large memories and other key technologies, and show how powerful trends like cloud computing and green IT will drive the next-generation data center. Next, they take a closer look at the evolution of server CPU, memory, and I/O subsystems, covering advances such as Intel XEON 5500, DDR3 memory, and Unified I/O over 10 Gbps Ethernet. The authors then offer a detailed look at UCS's specific features, characteristics, and advantages. Along the way, they offer deep insights into UCS architecture and components, and migration, as well as realistic guidance for planning, installation, and migration.

Silvano Gai has spent 11 years as Cisco Fellow, architecting Cisco's Catalyst, MDS, and Nexus switches. He has written several books on networking, written multiple Internet Drafts and RFCs, and is responsible for 80 patents and applications. He teaches a course on this book's topics at Stanford. Tommi Salli, Cisco Technical Marketing Engineer, has nearly 20 years of experience with servers and applications at Cisco, Sun, Veritas, and Nuova Systems. Roger Andersson, Cisco Manager, Technical Marketing, spent more than 12 years in EMC's CLARiiON Engineering Division, and 5 years as Technical Product Manager at VERITAS/Symantec. He is now focused on Cisco UCS system management.

1. Introduction
2. Server architectures
3. California enabling technologies
4. I/O Adapters
5. Cisco® Unified Computing System
7. Planning a California installation