Cisco UCS: Unified Infrastructure Management That HP OneView Still Can t Match

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1 Cisco UCS: Unified Infrastructure Management That HP OneView Still Can t Match Solution Brief October 2015 Highlights Greater Efficiency and Simplicity Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS ) provides management support for the entire Cisco UCS family, including blade, rack, and modular systems and Cisco UCS Mini. Enterprise-class software aligns policy-based management with your organizational structure through rolebased access control (RBAC). The system scales to support up to 6000 servers across data centers and globally distributed systems. Reduced Risk The role- and policy-based approach enforces compliance and reduces risk. The open architecture includes a broad ecosystem of third-party products. Support for Composable Infrastructure Only Cisco UCS management supports composable infrastructure to support a new class of applications. Intelligent resource pooling uses the same familiar and fundamental concepts regardless of resourc type. Ready for the Future Cisco UCS integrates with Cisco and third-party products, providing integrated infrastructure management, management across the data center, and management of private and hybrid cloud resources. Your choice of management software can affect your business for decades. Cisco UCS management is built directly into the system s fabric for efficiency and automation that HP OneView can t equal. The constant change in today s data centers is propelling organizations to assess their approaches to management of their infrastructure, including computing, networking, and storage resources, as well as cloud resources. Although the widespread adoption of x86-architecture servers has resulted in lower capital equipment costs, most organizations understand that the total cost of server ownership is dominated by management and maintenance expenses. Servers come and go in a data center following a regular cycle, but the management software you adopt is a long-term choice that can affect your business positively or negatively for decades. A New Era of Management We introduced a new era of management with Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) in Cisco UCS was the first and is still the only unified system in which management is an integrated part of the system. Because Cisco UCS management is built into the fabric of the system, a set of stateless hardware components can be composed and brought to life with a zero-touch approach. Cisco UCS management establishes servers with their own personality, configuration, and connectivity through a role- and policy-based approach that increases efficiency and simplicity through automation while dramatically reducing risk (Figure 1). Regardless of whether you choose rack, blade, or modular servers, or future servers that Cisco may produce, all become part of a Cisco UCS management domain that enables you to manage every application deployment model with a single, consistent approach Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.

2 Greater Efficiency and Simplicity Cisco UCS management supports the entire Cisco server portfolio and contributes to greater efficiency and simplicity in your data center with enhanced automation, scalability, and other features that HP OneView 2.0 can t match. Full Product Portfolio Support Cisco UCS management supports the entire Cisco UCS server portfolio dating back to the first servers sold in Whether your application deployment model calls for blade servers, rack servers, or composable infrastructure using modular servers, you can manage all of them with the same tools. This Infrastructure Pools Open Programmatic Interfaces Policies APIs Policies Security, RBAC, and Redundancy capability saves administrative costs, reduces training needs, and decreases the opportunity for errors that can cause downtime. If you choose OneView, you get support for HP s current blade and rack servers and that s all. If you need to support applications deployed with older servers (HP G6 and G7), HP Moonshot Systems, or HP Scalable Systems, you get partial or no support. Thus, you must use different management solutions for different application deployment models. The result is infrastructure and management silos and administrators who may be trained in one set of management tools but not in another. This approach slows you down. Cisco UCS Management Policies Templates with Consistent Scaling Figure 1. Cisco Unifies Management Through an Automated and Policy-Based Approach Greater Automation Cisco UCS uses a stateless server model so that everything about server personality, configuration, and connectivity can be set on demand through Cisco UCS service profiles. With Cisco UCS virtual interface card (VIC) technology, you can configure even the number and type of I/O devices on demand, a capability that is uniform across the product portfolio and across physical and virtual servers. With Cisco UCS, you can create all the devices needed to support a typical virtualized environment with a single physical VIC (Figure 2). You can create a dynamic network interface card (NIC) and attach it directly to a virtual machine, and with Cisco UCS management, the I/O configuration persists even as the virtual machine moves from server to server. This approach reduces the number of manual steps needed to configure servers and their I/O devices, network connectivity, and local storage. The direct connection from virtual machines from I/O devices can increase network throughput by up to 38 percent including CPU cycles, which can now be spent on better application performance. Cisco UCS management provides centralized management of multiple Cisco UCS domains, and it allows you to align your resources with your organizational structure with a configurable division of resources up to five levels deep Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 2 of 7

3 Service Profile Templates A single Cisco UCS service profile can be associated with at most one server, so that each server has a unique personality. Cisco UCS service profile templates can be used to create multiple Cisco UCS service profiles so that configuring 1 or 100 servers takes essentially the same amount of work. This level of automation illustrates the enterprise-level quality of Cisco UCS management and the capability to make administrators more effective in their jobs. You can assign the capability to create service profile templates to specific roles (see the section Role-Based Access Control on page 3). You can enable your most trusted administrators to define what a compliant server is by establishing templates, and then allow the production staff to generate Cisco UCS service profiles from approved templates. This approach contributes to a more effective and more secure IT environment. for details), and provides greater management flexibility for the rest of Cisco UCS product portfolio. Greater Scalability Cisco UCS management supports up to 6000 servers in a single data center, in multiple local data centers, or geographically dispersed data centers and branch and remote offices. Although OneView allows multiple systems to be federated for greater scalability, it currently supports up to only 640 servers. Less Risk Alignment of infrastructure with workloads requires enterprise-class Virtual Ports software that integrates role-based access control (RBAC) and policies to define server configurations that are consistent, compliant, and secure. Only by tightly coupling the roles in your organization with the process of defining the server can you eliminate configuration drift, reduce errors that can cause downtime, and increase the flexibility of your organization to respond quickly to changing workloads with fast deployment times. Role-Based Access Control With RBAC, you define administrator roles that align with your organizational structure. OneView provides only limited RBAC capabilities. With Cisco Virtual Ports Physical Port Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects Resource Pooling Resource pools can be created to group servers by architectural characteristics (such as number of CPUs, amount of memory, I/O configuration, or server type). Resources can be drawn from pools and configured for use by assigning a Cisco UCS service profile either manually or automatically. This capability facilitates the use composable infrastructure, such as Cisco UCS M-Series Modular Servers (see the section Composable Infrastructure Today on page 6 VM 1 Storage Access Virtual Hypervisor Machine Management Movement Hypervisor Hypervisor VM 2 Virtual Machines Are Connected Directly to the Network Edge Cisco UCS Interface Card Cisco UCS Server Figure 2. With Cisco UCS Management, Both Physical and Virtual Connectivity Is Controlled Through Software 2015 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 7

4 UCS UCS UCS UCS Cisco UCS: Unified Infrastructure Management UCS management, RBAC provides much greater flexibility and security restrictions. For example, you may allow high-level staff to define policies that mid-level staff can use to create templates that define servers to meet specific workload needs (Figure 3). Any of your administration staff can use templates to create Cisco UCS service profiles that automatically configure servers after they are associated with a physical resource. Security is enhanced by limiting access to system resources according to roles. For example: If you limit policy creation to only high-level administrators, then low-level administrators cannot change those policies to create a server configuration that potentially is insecure. All roles can view the policies created by others, enhancing communication between disciplines and further reducing risk. A storage administrator can change Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) configurations, but can also view network configurations. profiles are applied to servers through a finite-state machine. This approach helps guarantee that if a step in the process fails, previous steps can be reversed and the server restored to its initial state. In contrast, the scriptbased approach embodied in OneView is fragile because administrators must create these scripts a process that is prone to error and may or may not know how to back out of problems. With OneView, you must take affirmative steps to help ensure that your system has not drifted from its configuration, a common result of a model what sets configuration parameters through scripts. With Cisco UCS management, configuration drift is eliminated because the finite-state machine constantly compares the desired state described by the object model with the actual state of the hardware. If a discrepancy Subject-Matter Experts 1 Define Policies Storage Server Administrator Network Administrator Administrator is discovered, the finite-state machine automatically remediates the problem, or logs a fault if it cannot. Cisco UCS service profiles include policies, so if a change is made to a policy, a discrepancy occurs between the desired state (new policy) and the actual state (old policy) of the hardware. This discrepancy causes the finite-state machine to automatically change the hardware so that it again matches the desired state reflected in the object model. For example, if you change the firmware revision number in the policy for a particular type of server, the finite-state machine updates the firmware for every Cisco UCS service profile that uses the policy that you changed. The result is global policy enforcement that is not within the scope of what OneView can do automatically. Do you want to have a different set of roles and responsibilities? With Cisco UCS management, you can create the configurations that match what your organization needs. Model-Based Management It incorporates every component of the system into an object model that maintains a single source of truth regarding system inventory and configuration. Cisco UCS service 2 Policies Are Used to Create Service Profile Templates 3 Service Profile Templates Create Service Profiles Service Profiles Are Associated with 4 Hardware and Configures Servers Automatically Figure 3. Roles and Policies Work Together to Increase Security and Compliance While Reducing Risk 2015 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 4 of 7

5 Open Architecture The open architecture of Cisco UCS eases integration with existing tools and processes, reducing the risk of vendor lock-in. The system s XML API provides access to every object and every function in the system so that anything that Cisco UCS management can do can also be achieved through thirdparty tools. Cisco has a comprehensive ecosystem of management products that support monitoring and analysis, deployment and configuration, and service orchestration (Table 1). This broad product support allows customers to preserve the investment they have made in existing tools and the associated processes, while allowing them to transition to a DevOps approach. The XML API is flexible enough that it does not lock users into any one tool or type of interface. Cisco or any third-party vendor can layer any user interface on top of Cisco UCS management. Cisco also offers the PowerTool Pack for PowerShell, the Cisco UCS Platform Emulator, and a Python software development kit (SDK) to help customers and partners develop solutions that integrate with Cisco UCS management. Table 1. Cisco UCS Management Supports a Broad Partner Ecosystem Monitoring and Analysis BMC ProactiveNet CA Spectrum Compuware Gomez Deployment and Configuration BMC BladeLogic Server Automation CA Spectrum Automation Cisco PowerTool (PowerShell Cmdlets) Service Orchestration BMC Cloud Lifecycle EMC Unified Infrastructure HP Operations HP Server Automation HP Operations Orchestration IBM Tivoli Monitoring and Netcool/OMNIbus InfoVista 5View Microsoft Systems Center Operations Solarwinds Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Splunk Enterprise VMware vrealize Operations IBM Tivoli Provisioning and Network OpenStack Ironic Microsoft System Center Configuration VMware vcenter Microsoft System Center Orchestrator VMware vrealize Orchestrator The API also enables higher-level software from Cisco to provide greater capabilities. For example, Cisco UCS Director configures Cisco UCS Integrated Infrastructure offerings that bring together Cisco UCS, Cisco Nexus switching, and third-party software in the form of prepackaged Zenoss Enterprise deployment units. Cisco UCS Director can automatically deploy Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (Cisco ACI ) through Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches. And unlike OpenView, Cisco UCS Director can manage thirdparty servers, including HP servers, switches, and storage, helping you put in place a single consistent mechanism for managing your whole data center Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 5 of 7

6 Composable Infrastructure Today Cisco provides support for composable infrastructure now. Although HP is claiming that OneView will support a future composable infrastructure product, OneView Release 2.0 can manage only HP blade and rack servers and the HP integrated infrastructure product. From the beginning, Cisco UCS has disaggregated servers and configured them through Cisco UCS service profiles. The addition of storage profiles in Cisco UCS management now enables service profiles to assemble the components of modular systems into complete servers. This capability enables Cisco UCS management to compose infrastructure automatically, as it is required. Shared Power, Cooling, I/O, and Management Infrastructure Does Not Have to be Replaced With Each Server Refresh Management 4 Internal SSDs in Configurable RAID Groups RAID 1 RAID 0 2 x 40-Gbps Unified Fabric Connections to Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects For Cisco UCS M-Series modular systems (Figure 4), Cisco UCS management allows a CPU and memory module to be selected, I/O devices configured, and boot devices attached along with the appropriate storage characteristics such as RAID level. With Cisco UCS management in combination with the open API, you can use a single mechanism to manage your application deployment models to support both traditional and cloudnative applications. Fluid Resource Pooling Resource pooling has been a fundamental concept in Cisco UCS management from the beginning, and it has evolved over time to support a wider range of resources. Cisco UCS management maintains an object Logical Volumes Allocated From RAID Groups Appear As Logical Volumes Simplified Servers with Only CPU, Memory, and PCIe Bus 16 Servers Share Common Infrastructure Cisco System Link Technology Disaggregates the Components and Uses Cisco VIC Silicon to Provide Programmable, Dedicated I/O Devices to Each Server s PCIe Bus Dedicated CPU and Memory Are the Only Components to Replace In Each Server Refresh Figure 4. The Same Concepts That Manage Blade and Rack Servers Allow Cisco UCS Management to Create Servers from Composable Infrastructure Such as Cisco UCS M-Series Modular Systems repository for IDs and ID pools, policies, service profiles and templates, and connectivity templates to facilitate fluid resource pools. Each physical and logical unit is treated as an element in pools of resources. Since the beginning, Cisco UCS has let you pool servers based on characteristics such as number and type of CPU. For example, if you need to use a particular CPU to support a database management system, you can select a server from the right pool and apply a Cisco UCS service profile to it. Cisco UCS management doesn t care whether the selected pool element is a blade or rack server, because the service profiles are independent of server type or processor generation. Disaggregated resources can be included in resource pools for example, the CPU and memory modules and RAID groups in Cisco UCS M-Series modular systems facilitating the composition of servers from the most basic components. Storageintensive servers can present resource pools to Cisco UCS management that include file, block, and objectaccess resources. Policies and Cisco UCS service profiles generated by applications and workloads automate the allocation, configuration, and provisioning (composition and decomposition) of the infrastructure based on profiles. When an application or service requests the resources to run, Cisco UCS management defines the model and platform that conform to the necessary characteristics. The resources are allocated from the pool 2015 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 6 of 7

7 based on availability, and Cisco UCS management composes the required infrastructure. When the resources are no longer required, they are released and decomposed, so they are available again for allocation in the resource pool. Although HP has made progress with OneView, significant enhancements are needed before it can offer the capabilities required to support the composable infrastructure that HP has described as part of the Project Synergy program. In the latest release of OneView, you still have to assign an IP address and manually attach a blade server chassis to the system to enable OneView to recognize the blade chassis components. This approach is far from the autodiscovery and policy-based automation required for composable infrastructure. Foundation for the Future Increasing demands on IT require new approaches to deploying and managing infrastructure. Big data and business analytics, mobile applications, social media, and back-end gaming applications: each places unique demands on IT infrastructure, and only Cisco UCS management offers a single model for managing them all. In today s environment, management software can either enhance or hinder your moves to future technologies, and it can either increase or reduce your total cost of ownership. Cisco UCS management continues to provide a unique and differentiated architecture that has evolved since its release six years ago and has amassed more than 46,000 customers. The growing preference for Cisco UCS is testimony to the fact that Cisco UCS management delivers significant, tangible advantages. Although software such as OneView seeks to provide some of the features pioneered in Cisco UCS, it simply cannot match the business advantages that Cisco UCS management delivers today. Even with OneView 2.0, the fundamental nature of HP s software hinders its flexibility and ability to adapt to new approaches such as composable infrastructure and still manage all your servers, past and present. Because Cisco UCS management is built directly into the system s fabric, our solution is designed to evolve and bring its elegant set of capabilities to meet new management challenges. For More Information Cisco UCS Management Cisco UCS M-Series Modular Servers Americas Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. San Jose, CA Asia Pacific Headquarters Cisco Systems (USA) Pte. Ltd. Singapore Europe Headquarters Cisco Systems International BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Cisco has more than 200 offices worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Website at 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: 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 /15