Introduction to Cisco Data Center Technologies

Past, Present, Future …

Old computing adage “Network is the computer” coined by John Cage from Sun Microsystems back in 1984 has never been truer. We live in the world of Hybrid Clouds where networking is pervasive. Everything starts with the Network. Networking fabric is the glue which connects compute servers with storage systems. Essentially, network connects applications with its data.

In a sense, network is an “unsung hero” of data center – not visible like data or applications – but if the network stops, everything stops. Cisco started with, and still has strong focus on networking with its strong portfolio of Ethernet (Nexus and ACI series) and Fiber Channel (MDS series) switches, but today Cisco is a solution company. Cisco is building network-centric Cisco UCS servers and partnering with storage leaders to integrate external storage systems in unified Cisco Intersight management platform.

Data Center 101

A data center is a physical facility that organizations use to house their critical applications and data. A data center’s design is based on a network of computing and storage resources that enable the delivery of shared applications and data.

Data center design includes routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems, servers, and application delivery controllers. Because these components store and manage business-critical data and applications, data center security is critical in data center design. Together, they provide:

  1. Network infrastructure. This connects servers (physical and virtualized), data center services, storage, and external connectivity to end-user locations.
  2. Computing resources. Applications are the engines of a data center. These servers provide the processing, memory, local storage, and network connectivity that drive applications.
  3. Storage infrastructure. Data is the fuel of the modern data center. Storage systems are used to hold this valuable commodity.
A diagram titled showing icons for network, storage, and compute, combined to form a data center or cloud.
Essential components—network, storage, and compute—combine to create a data center or cloud.

The Core of Cisco Data Center Solutions

At the heart of Cisco’s data center offerings is a suite of products and technologies that provide seamless integration, robust performance, and top-tier security. These include:

  • Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS): A converged data center architecture that unifies computing, networking, storage access, and virtualization. UCS simplifies management and scales workloads across hybrid cloud environments.
  • Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI): A comprehensive solution for software-defined networking (SDN), enabling automation and centralized management of network policies. ACI optimizes both physical and virtual environments, providing visibility and control over application performance.
  • Cisco HyperConverged Solution: A hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines computing, storage, and networking into a single system. Cisco HyperConverged Solution is based on market-leading Nutanix HCI platform which simplifies deployment and management while delivering high performance for data-heavy applications like databases, virtual desktops, and analytics.
  • Cisco Nexus Switching: Cisco Nexus switches offer high-performance networking with low latency and scalable bandwidth. These switches support large-scale environments, multicloud connectivity, and the automation necessary for modern data centers.
  • Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM): A management tool that provides centralized control over the entire data center infrastructure. DCNM enables automation, provisioning, and monitoring, simplifying operations for large-scale environments.
Cisco Intersight, “One management platform to rule them all”

Key Features and Benefits of Cisco Data Centers

1. Scalability

One of the main advantages of Cisco data centers is their ability to scale to meet the demands of growing businesses. Whether it’s expanding storage, adding new applications, or integrating new technologies, Cisco’s solutions are built to handle these challenges without overhauling the entire infrastructure.

  • UCS provides flexible scalability, allowing businesses to add resources as needed without downtime or significant changes to the architecture.
  • Cisco ACI makes it easier to scale applications across hybrid cloud environments while maintaining consistent security and policy enforcement.

2. Automation and Orchestration

Automation is crucial for modern data centers, where manual processes can slow down operations and lead to errors. Cisco data center solutions incorporate automation to streamline workflows, reduce complexity, and enhance agility.

  • Cisco ACI and Cisco Nexus switches are designed for full automation, allowing IT teams to automate provisioning, updates, and changes across the network. This ensures a faster response to changing business needs and improves overall efficiency.
  • With Cisco DCNM, organizations can orchestrate the entire data center infrastructure, automating repetitive tasks and minimizing operational costs.

3. Security and Compliance

As data centers increasingly become targets for cyberattacks, security remains a top priority for businesses. Cisco integrates robust security features throughout its data center solutions to protect critical assets and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

  • Cisco ACI includes built-in security policies that enforce consistent rules across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. The centralized policy model allows businesses to manage security at scale.
  • Cisco Secure Workload (formerly Tetration) provides workload protection by continuously monitoring and analyzing application behavior, detecting anomalies, and preventing breaches.
  • Zero Trust architecture is a key feature of Cisco’s security approach, ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users can access the data center.

4. Hybrid Cloud Support

As organizations increasingly adopt hybrid cloud strategies, Cisco’s data center solutions provide seamless integration between on-premises and cloud environments.

  • Cisco Intersight is a cloud-based operations platform that enables organizations to manage data center infrastructure across multiple locations, including public and private clouds.
  • Cisco ACI Anywhere extends the benefits of ACI into multicloud environments, enabling businesses to deploy consistent network policies and security across their hybrid infrastructure.
  • Cisco CloudCenter Suite helps businesses optimize workloads by automating deployment and management across public and private clouds, ensuring smooth transitions and operational efficiency.

5. Performance and Efficiency

Data centers must deliver high levels of performance to support demanding workloads, whether it’s for enterprise applications, big data analytics, or artificial intelligence (AI). Cisco’s data center technologies are optimized for high-performance computing, low-latency networking, and efficient resource utilization.

  • Cisco UCS delivers top-tier performance for applications, providing a unified system that maximizes compute power and simplifies management.
  • Cisco Nexus switches support high-speed networking with low latency, ensuring that data can be transferred quickly between applications and storage systems, reducing bottlenecks.

6. Simplified Management

Managing large-scale data centers can be complex and time-consuming. Cisco addresses this challenge with tools that provide centralized control and visibility over the entire infrastructure.

  • Cisco Intersight and DCNM offer intuitive dashboards, real-time analytics, and automation capabilities that make it easier to manage hardware, software, and networking components from a single interface.
  • The Cisco UCS Manager simplifies the management of computing, storage, and networking resources in the data center, reducing the need for separate tools and improving overall operational efficiency.

Data Center Evolution: From Mainframes to Cloud-native Applications

Computing infrastructure has experienced four generations of evolution over the last 70+ years:

  • Data Center 1.0: Mainframe computers with batch processing for efficiency and later-on interactive processing with the introduction of time-sharing and remote terminals.
  • Data Center 2.0: Client-Server access with dedicated servers for hosting entire applications or specific applications functions.
  • Data Center 3.0: Widespread server virtualisation and network-based storage systems that allowed for improved use of resources and mobility of workloads across pools of physical infrastructure.
  • Data Center 4.0: The fourth wave finds us in the present, where we are seeing the move to cloud, hybrid cloud and Edge and IoT ecosystems. Also this is the age of microservice-based (“cloud-native”) applications using containers.

Data Center Evolution: From Mainframes to Cloud-native Applications

Computing infrastructure has experienced four generations of evolution over the last 70+ years:

  • Data Center 1.0: Mainframe computers with batch processing for efficiency and later-on interactive processing with the introduction of time-sharing and remote terminals.
  • Data Center 2.0: Client-Server access with dedicated servers for hosting entire applications or specific applications functions.
  • Data Center 3.0: Widespread server virtualisation and network-based storage systems that allowed for improved use of resources and mobility of workloads across pools of physical infrastructure.
  • Data Center 4.0: The fourth wave finds us in the present, where we are seeing the move to cloud, hybrid cloud and Edge and IoT ecosystems. Also this is the age of microservice-based (“cloud-native”) applications using containers.
A diagram showing four stages: Mainframe, Low-End Server, Virtual Server, and Containerization, over time from the 1960s to 2020s.
Evolution of data centers from mainframes to containerization across four generations.

Instead of a Conclusion – The Future of Data Centers

This evolution has led to the development of distributed computing, where data and applications are spread across various systems, interconnected by network services and interoperability standards, allowing them to operate as a unified environment. As a result, the term “data center” now refers to the department responsible for managing these systems, regardless of their physical location.
Organizations now have the flexibility to build and manage their own hybrid cloud data centers, lease space in colocation facilities (colos), utilize shared compute and storage services, or adopt public cloud-based solutions. As a result, applications are no longer confined to a single location. Instead, they run across multiple public and private clouds, managed services, and traditional environments. In this hybrid multicloud era, network is becoming even more invisible, pervasive and empowering… Network is the Computer!