FlexPod Datacentre Solution. nowcomm.co.uk

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1 FlexPod Datacentre Solution nowcomm.co.uk

2 Contents Introduction Introduction 3 1. Today s IT challenges 4 2. The solution: FlexPod 6 The datacentre is transforming For almost every organisation IT operations are under increasing strain: on one hand are ever increasing IT service delivery pressures from the business, on the other are the challenges and impediments created by existing IT environments. One thing is clear, despite the current economic uncertainty, the question is no longer whether the datacentre needs to be transformed, but when this will happen. 3. FlexPod s components 11 Cisco UCS 11 Cisco Nexus 13 NetApp storage efficiency FlexPod s Applications 17 Validated designs 17 Secure Multi-Tenancy FlexPod: a scalable solution 22 FlexPod is enabling this transformation Cisco and NetApp have joined forces to design and deliver FlexPod. This new strategic datacentre solution unites the power of Cisco Unified Computing and Unified Fabric with NetApp s Unified Storage efficiency. The balanced design of FlexPod delivers: n Reduced risk due to validated and tested designs for diverse applications n High efficiency in data storage, energy consumption and utilisation of IT resources n Greater flexibility and future-proofing from optimised scalability, rapid assignment of capacity to applications and centralised management n Maximum uptime from near instant back-up, super-fast restore and extensive protection from hardware problems. Read this booklet to build your understanding of FlexPod s capabilities. This guide delves deeper into today s datacentre challenges and illustrates the solutions that FlexPod delivers, including: pre-validated applications for virtualisation, Microsoft environments and virtual desktop applications amongst others. 6. Unified Management About Nowcomm Nowcomm All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automated data file or made public in any form or in any way, either electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or using any other method, without prior permission from Nowcomm. This brochure serves as information material. Although the content of this brochure has been written with great care, some features or certain functionalities may be different from what is described here. Nothing in this documentation may be conceived as entitlement to extra guarantees. Neither Nowcomm nor its NetApp resellers are liable for any technical or other errors or omissions in this material.

3 1. Today s IT challenges The datacentre is in a crucial phase FlexPod Datacentre Solution Today s IT challenges 5 There remains room for consolidation gains Increasing amounts of data and proliferating applications continuously take up more disk space and physical space, increasing energy consumption. The only way to stop this is through consolidation and virtualisation at all levels. In addition, technologies are required that utilise IT resources more efficiently, while delivering operational profit. Higher user requirements Real-time information Collaborative applications Economic uncertainty Maturing virtualisation and the journey to the cloud The existing IT organisation and its processes constitute a hindrance to change. Often the infrastructure is still based on heterogeneous silos, where resources are not being used efficiently. At the same time, the application of server and desktop virtualisation is continually increasing. In order to avoid the risk of a total redesign of the infrastructure, an integrated approach to Increasing pressure from the business world the infrastructure based on proven technologies is required. Growing and changing simultaneously Operational challenges Ever increasing data, evolving business requirements and rising expectations at all levels mean infrastructure has to be scalable and flexible. It must be capable of meeting new requirements. The answer to these fundamental IT demands is virtualisation. Only this approach offers all of the answers for IT decision makers, making virtualisation success the number one priority for many organisations. So organisations must balance today s emerging business requirements: efficient collaboration, quicker access to applications and increasingly stringent legislation and regulation with the technological constraints arising from power and cooling, the need for more efficient use of capital assets and increasing requirements for provisioning, security and operational continuity. Less energy consumption Utilisation of IT resources Complex provisioning Integrity and availability These are common problems within the datacentre and the pressure is on for IT to find the answers.

4 FlexPod Datacentre Solution Today s IT challenges 6 FlexPod Datacentre Solution Today s IT challenges 7 The path to cloud Rapidly proliferating silos of servers, storage, and networking resources, combined with innumerable management tools and operational processes has led to rigidity, inefficiency and sky-high costs in the traditional datacentre. Wish list for the IT manager In relation to business-critical applications, today s challenges lead to the list of requirements below. In the next few chapters we will show you how FlexPod meets these. Clients are therefore switching to next-generation datacentre solutions such as FlexPod, based on a shared, virtualised Efficiency Flexibility Availability infrastructure. This type of infrastructure enables the client to respond faster and further reduce costs, whilst also making the final step to a private or public cloud possible. FlexPod provides an end-to-end virtualised infrastructure, which is scalable, flexible and can be managed from a single management console, whilst also offering a huge number of validated solutions for the most frequently used applications. Enterprise Applicaties Microsoft Apps Virtual Desktop Share Point SQL Server VDI Secure Multi-tenancy Exch. Server Validated designs Efficient use of available resources 4 More mailboxes, databases, etc. per server 4 More efficient use of storage 4 Far-reaching integration and automation of management tasks Accelerating the application deployment life cycle 4 Decrease the time for provisioning from weeks to minutes 4 Self-service provisioning from lab to production 4 Dynamic scalability without interruptions Efficiently maximise the availability of applications 4 Protection from hardware problems 4 Planned maintenance without downtime 4 Virtually immediate backup and recovery, taking applications into consideration 4 Protection from unplanned downtime and calamities Applications Servers Network Storage Application silos Zones of virtualisation ItaaS (the internal cloud) External cloud services COLLECTIVE VISION FlexPod The advantages Less risk More efficiency Flexible IT Less risk due to architecture being validated, simplified and shared in advance Flexbile IT that is scalable in order to meet today s requirements as well as those of the future Lower TCO and improved efficiency Certified datacentre specialists as partners with joint product support CO-OPERATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT FlexPod Validated Datacentre Design FlexPod is ideal for organisations facing the following challenges: n Migration to a shared infrastructure with many applications n Improved performance, efficient capacity, flexible data and system growth along with timely deployment of new business initiatives n Lower cost per user without sacrificing scalability n Improvement of operational flexibility, processes and cost reduction n Evolution to an operation that is in line with ITIL-based standards n Implementation of applications that support Software as a Service (SaaS), Virtual Desktop and Private/Public cloud environments.

5 2. The solution: FlexPod FlexPod: the best of both worlds FlexPod Datacentre Solution The solution: FlexPod 9 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The most efficient way to the cloud FlexPod is a datacentre solution that has been tested in advance and built on a flexible, scalable, shared infrastructure with Cisco Unified Computing System servers and Cisco Nexus switches, combined with NetApp unified storage systems that run on State of the Art Storage Servers and network Data ONTAP. Ethernet expertise 10GbE market leader, 1st FCoE Storage Dominates Ethernet environment FlexPod meets the needs of medium-sized and large companies as well as service providers that have begun to use virtualisation solutions and are migrating to a cloud. A common goal is to limit the number of silos, increase IT flexibility, decrease the costs and Protocol support Unified Storage Unified Fabric risks, as well as increasing datacentre efficiency. FlexPod offers: Focus on virtualisation Leading storage innovator 1st virtualised servers n Standardised, validated, best-in-class building blocks for your infrastructure as industry leaders in storage, network and servers n One platform, built with uniform and scalable computing, fabric and storage technologies so that requirements can be met in Simplified management Simplified data management Simplified network infrastructure the largest datacentres without interruption or changes of architecture n Integrated components that have been optimised for diverse environments and that make central management of the complete infrastructure pool possible n Validated designs for many different applications, such as virtualised environments with VMware, SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, SAP, virtual desktop infrastructure or Secure Multi-Tenancy. Cisco and NetApp have collaborated to help clients with the transformation to next generation architecture, i.e. a proven infrastructure that has been optimised for virtualisation and whose resources are well-matched and have excellent support. FlexPod is based on a collective vision: n A vision of uniform, shared infrastructures Cisco Unified Computing System B-Class Blade Servers and UCS Manager Cisco Nexus Switches NetApp 10 GE and FCoE The components of FlexPod n Standard, validated, best-in-class infrastructure building blocks n A flexible, scalable platform scalable capable of handling many environments and mixed workloads n Simplified management and repeatable implementations n Design and sizing guides available n Services make implementation in many different environments possible. n Validated, scalable architectures n Standardised building blocks n Cooperative services and support n Collective, open partner ecosystem.

6 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The solution: FlexPod 10 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The solution: FlexPod 11 The advantages of FlexPod What makes FlexPod unique? Flexible IT n Flexibility The uniform infrastructure stack is built for today s virtualisation and will be able to upscale to a complete private or public cloud in the near future n Scalable IT that can be scaled as needed for various models of use and environments, such as SAP, Exchange, SQL, VDI or Secure Multi-Tenancy n Future proof Scaling the architecture, without changes, to meet the current virtualisation requirements along with seamless integration to a future private or public cloud. Less risk n Uniform architecture Flexible, uniform storage architecture and protocols in one solution, rather than several incompatible systems, ready for virtualised environments, and flexible enough to grow towards a cloud environment at its own pace n Validated Solution Standardised components of Cisco and NetApp that have been validated in advance simplify the infrastructure, limit the operational risk and shorten the waiting time for all the client s applications to be put into operation n High availability Protection from unplanned downtime and calamities, near instant backup and recovery, application consistent backup and recovery and planned maintenance without downtime n Collaborative support model Collaborative support model for a safe and proven transition to virtualisation and the cloud underwritten by single point of contact support from Cisco, NetApp and VMware n Investment protection The Ethernet-based FlexPod framework fits into your current infrastructure, so that you don t have to spend any money on replacing existing technology. Uniform Architecture n One single unified multi-protocol storage architecture that you can scale without changes in the architecture, instead of several incompatible systems n Validated architecture with the flexibility to add Secure Multi-Tenancy and vshield zones and to run multiple applications simultaneously n One wire strategy based on 10 GbE and FCoE. Efficiency n Built-in efficiency, such as de-duplication and thin-provisioning lower the costs and increase the return on investment. Rapid cloning technology puts thousands of virtual machines into production in minutes n MultiStore options for managing and protecting enterprise storage for a multi-tenant infrastructure n Extra efficiency with Snapshot, FlashCache and FlexClone at array level n 50% guaranteed storage saving in virtualised environments. Investment protection n Integrates with existing devices no new CapEx n Scaling by linking faster controllers to existing storage. FlexPod: Everything is Unified Lower TCO n Higher efficiency Simplified, shared and virtualised infrastructure increases efficiency and decreases costs by making better use of capacity and better integration in the existing client environment n Lower costs A more efficient datacentre, reduction in the number of operational processes, lower energy consumption and optimum resource-use lead to a lower overall TCO n Quick implementation Standardised components that have been validated in advance reduce project design and testing phases significantly. Protocols Scalability from low to high FC FCoE iscsi NFS CIFS Multi-vendor virtualisation Costs & Performance Flash cache SSD SSD Unified management With FlexPod s uniform architecture, integrated data management, data protection along with uniform tools and processes you can take many directions. Supporting several protocols is only the beginning. You can scale FlexPod in many ways to suit numerous (virtualised) applications, from a variety of suppliers, with options that lower costs and/or increase performance. FlexCache One architecture, one

7 3. The FlexPod components Cisco Unified Computing System Server and network power unified Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) is a total solution for datacentres. The product family consists of blade servers, network switches, network cards, unified management and more. The advantages of Cisco UCS are considerable: simplified management, increased flexibility, lower power and higher efficiency consistently deliver lower operational costs. With Cisco UCS, the number of server blades required each requiring power, cooling and cables, is drastically reduced. In Cisco UCS, a server is not hardware, but a service profile with a number of parameters and configurations. If the server were to become defective, you only need to place the configuration on the next server. In addition, you get unequalled hardware mobility. With one push of the button, you can create 10 to 12 servers with unique identities on blades, LAN and SAN. Process automation (ITIL) Automated Provisioning Embedded single point of management and provisioning Unified management and administration of all hardware Continuous management and compliance Up to 90% more efficiency in management with quicker configuration changes and fewer incidents FlexPod Datacentre Solution The FlexPod components 13 The characteristics of Cisco UCS n Servers, optimised for applications requiring a lot of memory and for virtualised environments n Network with support for 10 Gbit/s integrates three different network types: LAN, storage network and management network. This decreases the number of network adapters, switches and cables needed and also lowers power consumption n Virtualisation with improved scalability, performance and management, combined with protection and policy management. This ensures a dynamic virtualisation environment that can be changed according to the company s needs n Management is integrated into all the components of the system and can be checked with Cisco UCS Manager n Because Cisco UCS uses about a third of the number of components of a regular datacentre and needs less cooling, the power consumption is radically decreased n Thanks to cutting edge scalability, a Cisco UCS can consist of as many as 320 servers. You can lower the cost for maintenance and management by a third in comparison to competing technologies n Cisco UCS is manufactured according to industry standards. Cisco Unified Fabric a component of Cisco UCS With Cisco Unified Fabric, separate storage and data networks become one. This decreases the need for server interfaces, cables, adapters and switches, reducing costs and energy consumption and improving reliability. The greatest advantage is the flexibility to utilise file or block based protocols based on application requirements, migrating applications between these or increasing available bandwidth based on business needs. Business Service Management Virtualised services Detailed management, configuration and mobility of network, servers and storage attributes Industry standard servers Intel Xeon processors More than double the memory capacity of competing systems Blade and Rackmount form factor Operations & Support Up to 10% better processor performance due to Cisco Hypervisor Bypass technology Up to 30% fewer components, switches, cables, management tools, memory and power Ethernet Fiber Channel traffic n Fewer cables needed n Block I/O and ethernet traffic through the same cable n Fewer adapters needed n Lower energy consumption n Works with existing SANs n No gateway needed Unified fabric One wire for FC and Ethernet Ready for virtualisation Scalable, flexible and manageable Scalable Unified Fabric eliminates the limitations of traditional networks

8 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The FlexPod components 14 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The FlexPod components 15 Cisco Nexus Datacentre switches scalable, operational continuity and transport flexibility Converged Cisco Nexus solutions simplify the datacentre network by converging LAN and SAN with the help of Datacentre Bridging (DBC), Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FcoE) protocols and Unified ports. n Up to 50% lower TCO n Reduce investments through needing fewer host adapters, switches and cables n Reduce operational expenses due to less energy consumption, less cooling, less rack and floor space n Implement solutions step by step without a total upgrade n Minimise disruptions to the existing management and operation. Scalable Cisco Nexus solutions make the complex workload for virtualisation and the challenges of cloud computing scalable. n Unites all network locations in one environment n Supports efficient access and use of resources, regardless of size n Ensures reliable, scalable networks with predictable performance and less complexity n Network scalablility with simplified management. NetApp The elements of efficiency NetApp software ensures storage efficiency on several fronts. The various efficiency-increasing features add up to big savings of space and time, while also increasing flexibility. How does NetApp provide more efficiency? Various NetApp technologies ensure a dramatic reduction of storage capacity requirement: De-duplication decreases required storage capacity by over 50%, for backups the reduction can even be 95% Save up to 95% Data compression, particularly for archive data is where NetApp offers the option to compress data even more. Saves up to 50% of required storage capacity. Data compression, particularly for archive data is where NetApp offers the option to compress data even more. Saves up to 50% of required storage capacity. 50% 33% Intelligent Cisco Nexus offers intelligent services directly on the network. It expands the network in a transparent way so that it brings together all network locations into one environment with consistent services and policy. n Makes services available for applications, workloads and other infrastructure components n Scales the provision of services automatically when there are changes in the network scope n Speeds up the time needed to put applications into operation, with compliance based on policy instead of physical changes to the infrastructure. Double Parity RAID (RAID DP ), a solution that protects your data from double disk failure. Saves up to 46% of storage capacity. Save up to 46% Snapshot -technology secures data through virtual copies of volumes and files without using the associated disk space. Saves up to 80% in disk space. Save up to 80% Thin Replication, data replication using NetApp thin replication between storage systems can reduce bandwidth by up to 95%. Save up to 95% FlexClone copies, writable Snapshots, are ideal for testing purposes, because only changes in data are saved without the need for a complete copy. This saves up to 80% in disk space. Save up to 80%

9 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The FlexPod components 16 FlexPod Datacentre Solution The FlexPod components 17 The NetApp Storage Efficiency Model NetApp s range of disk space-saving technologies ensure increased efficiency as the required storage capacity increases. Storage costs Capacity requirement Unlimited data growth Storage efficiency n SATA/Flash Cache n Raid-DP n Thin Provisioning n Snapshot Technology n De-duplication n Thin Replication n Virtual Coples n Data compression The total effect of storage efficiency Operational efficiency n Application Integrity n Storage management automation n Data Motion n Autosupport n Intergrated data protection n Service automation n Storage on demand SnapManager Application consistent backup of business critical data NetApp can optimise the availability of application data based on Snapshot technology combined with special SnapManager software for various applications. The SnapManagers form a service layer that ensures data management and backups. SnapManager is available for Microsoft Exchange, SQL and SharePoint server, VMware, Hyper-V, Oracle and SAP. Server with SnapManager for application NetApp Storage System Snapshot Back-up in Seconds Roll transaction logs Restore in minutes Backup n Consistent backup in seconds with snapshot technology n Snapshot copies are verified before they are saved n The fastest possible and most storage efficient backup n Online backups with virtually no effect on performance n Option to make backups more frequently n Direct access to backup data. Recovery n Nearly instant data restore through Snapshots n Dramatically decreased recovery time due to automated logs n Automated recovery tasks n Extremely fast and accurate data storage and recovery n Reduction of downtime n Less time required for management tasks. 50% less energy, cooling and space Less use of disk space has additional green advantages: less energy consumption and less demand for cooling. 50% less energy Power (VA)/Usable TB 50% less cooling needed Heat (BTU/Hr)/Usable TB Total rack units/10tb NetApp FlexClone Writeable Snapshots FlexClone allows full virtual copies of data volumes that may be used separately to the original volume for test, development or distributed data without dramatic increases in storage capacity. Only changes to the original volume are stored as part of the clone. An example of this may be creation of a duplicate database without taking the original offline. This streamlines many forms of development and disaster recovery testing % % NetApp Competition NetApp Competition Possible range based on variable factors per specific environment % NetApp Competition User reads unchanged Snapshot database FlexClone User writes data to new clone copy Operation n Use FlexClone to create complete replicas n Create direct replications of data volumes and sets without requiring the storage space that is needed at the time of creation n Provides the IT manager with the option to make a backup copy of a database and to use it for test and development purposes without affecting the production database or having to take it offline. Flexible Volume production data Additional copy of production data Advantages n Ideal for test environments: only changes due to the testing take up additional disk space. This minimises storage space requirement.

10 4. FlexPod applications Scalability and flexibility of FlexPod FlexPod is not a fixed configuration. It forms an excellent starting point as a shared infrastructure for organisations with mixed workloads. FlexPod Datacentre Solution FlexPod applications 19 FlexPod speeds up business With the help of validated designs for diverse applications, FlexPod helps speed up IT results. By using the extensively tested FlexPod designs, many of the traditional phases of implementation are condensed together or even completely avoided. Clients who use the standardised approach have repeatedly achieved more than 50% faster time to deployment compared to traditional solutions. Cisco and NetApp offer the reference material (determination of size, design, implementation and testing) to standardise this process for all clients. Service request Service available Many weeks or months VDI Development and Testing Traditional Design and sizing Datacentre planning Acquisition Detail design Implementation Testing High performance Blades delivering high IOPS Starter configuration More CPU power, less storage Data Protection and Backup With FlexPod Reference BoM Validated design Precision Implementation Standard test plan Service request DC planning Implementation Acquisition 50% faster Service available Testing With advance provisioned FlexPod Quicker implementation of application Service available Advantages Deliver services rapidly and in a flexible way Shared pools meet most requirements Higher productivity Faster implementation Start with an entry-level configuration and then scale up Balanced infrastructure Less CPU power, more storage DC planning Implementation Acquisition Testing Higher quality Simpler planning

11 FlexPod Datacentre Solution FlexPod applications 20 FlexPod Datacentre Solution FlexPod applications 21 Validated workloads for diverse applications Validated FlexPod datacentre designs that lower the risks and speed up implementation are available for a great number of frequently-used applications. MS SharePoint VMware View Citrix XenDesktop Oracle Validated workloads MS ExChange Secure Multi-Tenancy Windows SAP MS SQL server FlexPod Balanced performance of server, network and storage components Hyper-V NetApp Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track with Cisco Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud and System Centre Cisco UCS B-Class Blade servers and UCS Manager Cisco Nexus Switches NetApp FAS Storage MS Hyper-V Cloud MS System Centre n Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track is a validated best-in-class Microsoft private cloud design n With this, NetApp offers the first multi-vendor private cloud architecture Collaboration between NetApp, Cisco and Microsoft Microsoft infrastructure software (Microsoft Hyper V, System Centre, including SCVMM, SCOM, SCSM and System Centre Orchestrator) Cisco UCS Servers and Nexus Switches NetApp storage and software n Accelerates private cloud implementations n Technical references available for architecture, design, configuration and operation n Script automation options through System Centre Orchestrator (Opalis) plug-ins. Vware vsphere built on FlexPod VMware vsphere and vcentre Cisco UCS B-Class and UCS Manager Cisco Nexus Switches 1000V of 1010V NetApp FAS 10GbE and FCoE VMware With VMware vsphere built on FlexPod you have a complete, virtualised datacentre in a rack cabinet. This basic configuration has been tested and validated for 1500 users with four simultaneous application workloads: n VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) n Microsoft Exchange n Microsoft SharePoint n Microsoft SQL Server n Plus extra space for even more applications. In addition, the FlexPod configuration offers the flexibility to support several types of computing and storage within a single FlexPod-for-VMware datacentre solution. Citrix XenDesktop Built on FlexPod Complete datacentre solution for Citrix XenDesktop applications XenDesktop 5 supports a large variety of service delivery options and expands the options to include mobile users. Citrix XenDesktop built on FlexPod improves the performance of any hypervisor: n Optimised for XenDesktop n Unequalled price/performance ratio n Quick implementation and easy to expand n Design and sizing-guides available n Collaborative support agreement. Cisco UCS B-Class Blade servers and UCS manager Cisco Nexus Switches NetApp FAS Storage Citrix XenDesktop Any Hypervisor

12 FlexPod Datacentre Solution FlexPod applications 22 Secure Multi-Tenancy Safe isolation of shared resources Secure Multi-Tenancy (SMT) offers safe isolation of resources for every tenant (for example, business unit or client) within a shared infrastructure. SMT creates isolated zones or virtual silos and offers the control that infrastructures silos offer but with much more flexibility and efficiency. The virtual silos offer great flexibility enabling resources to be switched between various tenants or to be scaled if the demand varies, delivering a quick response to changing business requirements. End-to-end SMT is a unique FlexPod-functionality, which is only offered by Cisco, NetApp and VMware. Secure Multi-Tenancy brings virtualisation to the next level and provides a bridge to cloud computing. SMT is critical to implementation of a robust, secure service provider model. ERP HR CRM VMware VMware VMware Cisco UCS Cisco Nexus NetApp FAS ERP HR CRM Secure Multi-Tenancy Built on FlexPod n The only end-to-end solution on the market n Consistent service quality within every layer n Manage each resource pool independently n Reduce risks and costs and increase the IT flexibility and response capacity n Validated design. Resource pool settings Platinum Tenant Gold Tenant Silver Tenant Reservation Reserved Reserved Not Reserved Limits Unlimited Limited Limited Shares High Average Low Expandable reservation Enabled Disabled Disabled 5. FlexPod: scalable solution Scaling through replication A FlexPod configuration, which supports, for example, 1500 users (such as VMware vsphere built on FlexPod) can easily be scaled by replication of the FlexPod. By choosing and scaling a standard building block and by repeating this, very high operational efficiency can be achieved. n Scaling based on standard proven configurations n Predictable and very efficient n Scalable both in capacity and performance n Economic with floor space, energy and cooling n Or you can scale within the FlexPod. Advantages n Reduce the effort involved in design, implementation and testing n Reduce the implementation time by 50% n Manage only the infrastructure pools for storage, computing and network, rather than separate systems. Building blocks for desktop implementation Desktops are typically implemented in phases. The FlexPod makes this approach possible through building blocks. 50,000 seat reference model n Configuration based on real projects Standardised, proven design n Known capacity, performance, floor space and energy consumption n Scalable and repeatable. Simple Management of infrastructure pools n Pools for storage, computing and network n vcentre centralised management n Plug-ins for UCS Manager and NetApp VSC users 3000 users 4500 users

13 6. Unified Management 7. Joint Support and documentation Single point of Management The FlexPod has a uniform architecture that helps organisations to manage their architecture centrally. Important components that contribute to this are VMware vcentre, Cisco UCS manager and NetApp storage plug-ins. In addition, the open FlexPod APIs ensure compatibility with third party management tools. VMware vcentre n Automated workflows n Scalable, expandable platform. Cisco UCS Platform n Embedded unified management n Integrated with VMware vcentre. VMware vcentre NetApp Storage plug-ins VMware FlexPod Support Model The collaborative support model is an agreement between Cisco, NetApp and VMware that enables engineers to cooperate with each other directly to solve client problems. This model streamlines communication and information access between the parties, which enables clients to have access to the expertise of each of the three parties, no matter where and how the support request comes in. n Builds onto years of mutual support to create an efficient, flexible and scalable support solution delivering a seamless experience to customers n NetApp, Cisco and VMware offer support teams with years of experience n Extensive and improved process for support requests, focussed on the most efficient way to solve problems n Unified Support Lab. NetApp OnCommand n Manager suite: automate, analyse and manage n Integration with VMware vcentre Server n Also allows server managers to carry out storage tasks. Cisco UCS Manager Centralised management Expandable Open Management The support escalation process: one contact point Process n The client contacts technical support from the supplier that the problem is presumed to be coming from n Problem analysis and the solution process start immediately n The client is directly assisted with the issue at hand with transparent communication between any or all of the three vendors n Escalations proceed with coordination by the vendor(s) not the client. Cisco technical support Client with support contracts NetApp technical support If cross-vendor support proves to be necessary Cisco supports escalation or engineering Advantages for the client n Flexible no fixed configurations needed n Shorter time to a solution n Improved support experience through cooperation between vendors n Efficient solution of multi-vendor problems through assisted escalation n Vendor takes ownership of the problem during the solving period the client therefore has one contact point. NetApp supports escalation or engineering VMware technical support VMware supports escalation or engineering

14 FlexPod Datacentre Solution Joint Support and documentation 26 Common support lab NetApp, Cisco and VMware have a common support lab where products are developed, tested and validated. n Partnership between NetApp, Cisco and VMware n Each partner provides product engineering and support expertise n Option to mix & match available product components, making reproduction of complex client environments possible n Availability for the support teams of the various vendors via Secure Access Portal n Hosted in the NetApp Technical Support Centre Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Common implementation documentation n Cisco Validated Design Guide n Installation Guide Step-by-step instructions for repeatable, quality installation of the infrastructure n Solutions Guide Design and information available to use FlexPod in a large number of environments: Secure multi-tenancy, VMware View, SAP, Microsoft Exchange, development and test environments. Common validated best practices and reference architectures n Thoroughly tested and documented in order to address client requirements n Ensures consistency and standardisation of design and service level n Eliminates the risk of multi-vendor solutions n Shows the breadth and depth of the partnership within a broad range of workloads, including Exchange (VMware & Hyper-V), Oracle RAC, Desktop Virtualisation (XenDesktop & View) and secure private clouds n Compatible with 3rd party management software. About Nowcomm Nowcomm is a skills, support and managed services company providing cost and performance optimised networking, communications and datacentre services tailored to support the business objectives of our customers. We focus on understanding your needs and provide full lifecycle support for your datacentre from analysis, design, planning and implementation right through to ongoing support and proactive managed services. Our extensive Cisco network heritage, in-depth data centre knowledge and 24x7 Network Operation Centre, mean you can be just as confident about the performance of your choice in technology partner as you can about the performance of your FlexPod. For more information:

15 communications harmonised NetApp NetApp s goal is to deliver exceptional value through products and services that set the standard for simplicity and ease of operation. This philosophy drives the entire company, from product design and system operation through support and business processes. NetApp s success to date has been in delivering cost-effective enterprise storage solutions that reduce the complexity associated with managing conventional storage systems. More information: Cisco Innovative collaborators since 2003, NetApp and Cisco have developed the FlexPod platform for better flexibility, increased efficiencies, and reduced risk in the datacentre. The joint FlexPod infrastructure solution addresses the needs of medium to large enterprises and service providers that are deploying either virtualised or nonvirtualised solutions, and migrating to a cloud environment. UCS momentum is fueled by game-changing innovation; Cisco is quickly passing established players. Demand for datacentre innovation has vaulted Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) to the #3 leader in the fast growing segment of the x86 server market as a result of: Blade servers are the fastest growing segment of the x86 computing market Legacy offerings flat-lining or in decline Cisco growth out-pacing the market Customers have shifted over 11.0% of the global x86 blade server market to Cisco. More information: The Nowcomm Building, Stanier Way, Wyvern Business Park, Derby DE21 6BF Tel: nowcomm.co.uk