IT Virtualisation Too Often Performed In Silos - Cisco Launches Data Center 3.0

In announcing the launch of a new programme of solutions – Data Centre 3.0 – Cisco has produced a series of papers covering the transformation of data centres, which it suggests must be done one step at a time.

“A process evolution from transactions to interactions is leading to the emergence of data centres built on network-based service oriented infrastructures (SOI),” says the company. In turn this allows well integrated IT departments to treat their data centres as single functional units composed of interdependent, virtualised pools of storage, network, server and application resources to better support applications and meet the challenges introduced by a more distributed interaction model across and between organisations.

Data centre consolidation is made feasible by improvements in networking such as cheap bandwidth and low-latency connectivity links and secure WAN optimisation (Cisco produce Wide Area Application Services Software (WAAS)). However the company believes that current IT virtualisation too often takes place within silos which limits the opportunity. There also appears to be an increase in instances where VLAN and Virtual Storage Network Areas (VSAN) are out of synch with the virtualised application resources they support.

Cisco propose that these issues can be resolved using its VFrame Data Center which handles real-time automation of load balancing, security, application of IT policy etc. Based on experience of its customers Cisco recommends a phased approach: (1) Optimise server, storage and network domains, using the network to make each domain faster and more efficient and ultimately more service orientated. (2) Collaborate on common processes across organisational silos, moving to “multithreaded collaboration”. (3) Build a unified SOI fabric.

Overall, the Cisco 3.0 solution offers a broad product and services portfolio for the data centre that helps organisations to balance business priorities and technology shifts against day-to-day operating challenges.

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