Cisco Expands Data Center 3.0

Cisco has extended its Data Center 3.0 initiative with the launch of new products and professional services. It includes Cisco Data Center 3.0 announcements include: Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) software release 4.1; Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE) software release 3.1 for the ACE 4710 application switch; Cisco VFrame Data Center software release 1.2; and new Cisco Data Center 3.0 professional programs and services.

The new offerings make the virtual network an efficient platform for delivering data centre services-accelerating, providing security, and orchestrating application delivery networks, servers, virtualised computing, and storage, while providing responsiveness and resource conservation.

"By virtualising the resources of a data centre, an enterprise can offer services across the globe from a single centralised data centre, thereby reducing operational cost and increasing asset effectiveness," said Sumit Mukhija, national sales manager, data centre, Cisco India and SAARC. "With these technologies, Cisco aims to help businesses achieve the agility and resiliency they need, to compete on a global scale."

Cisco WAAS software release 4.1 supports network-embedded virtualisation, enabling customers to deploy platforms such as Microsoft Windows Server 2008 locally at the branch office on a Cisco WAAS appliance, reducing server hardware requirements. In addition, version 4.1 simplifies customer deployments and provides acceleration features for Microsoft Exchange, web applications, live and on-demand video, centralised printing, and Unix/Linux file sharing.

According to the company, Cisco ACE software release 3.1 increases the capacity of the ACE 4710 application switch up to 4 Gbps of throughput with up to 2Gbps of compression capability, doubling the device's virtualised performance in a compact form factor. It also leverages its virtualised load balancing and security services across unified communications, collaborative technologies, and video applications through its ability to understand the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

Cisco VFrame 1.2 offers integration with Cisco ACE and VMware ESX, including the ability to virtualise servers to ACE virtual devices, and/or to select a server out of a utility pool, and configure it end-to-end with ESX.

Cisco also announced both new and enhanced programmes to help customers deploy and manage advanced data centres, including the new Data Center Efficiency Assurance Program, extensions to the Data Center Assurance Program (DCAP) 4.0, and DCAP for Applications.

The Efficiency Assurance Program (EAP) is a web-based tool that helps customers better analyse data centre power use and establishes energy benchmarks across facilities and infrastructure. Data Center Assurance Program (DCAP) also include large-scale data centre validation, design and implementation guides, including an enhanced Service Provider section containing an updated baseline architecture and new overlays for video streaming and mobility services.

Cisco WAAS software release 4.1 and Cisco ACE software release 3.1 for the ACE Appliance are scheduled to be available for download in Q3, CY08. Cisco VFrame Version 1.2 is schduled to be available on both primary and secondary appliances with a base starter kit of $59,995 list; and will be available in Q3, CY08.