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Virtualization and flexible computing

DELL POWER SOLUTIONS | November 200856

unified Ethernet interface and helping

accelerate rollout of new applications and

services. They are designed to provide

VM-aware services for increased asset

utilization, simplified server connections,

rapid server provisioning, security, and

quality of service. In addition, Cisco Nexus

5000 Series Switches can map VMs to

network profiles, allowing network ser-

vices to be managed at the VM level. This

mapping helps enhance manageability,

simplify troubleshooting, and maintain

compliance. Consistent network and secu-

rity policies can also be managed centrally

over the unified fabric.

The distributed virtual software Cisco

Nexus 1000V Series Switches, which are

expected to be available in the first half

of 2009, help address one contradiction

of the evolving data center: the need to

exert a fine level of control over band-

width versus the need to deliver high

levels of aggregate bandwidth to the

server. In an environment in which the

VM is essentially the new building block

in the data center, organizations must

be able to provision, manage, and trou-

bleshoot network connectivity with

VM-level granularity.

The Cisco Nexus 1000V Series is

designed to enable IT managers to set and

enforce security and connection policies,

conduct automated provisioning, and

leverage diagnostics features for thou-

sands of live VMs throughout the data

center. When available, the Cisco Nexus

1000V Series is expected to help IT admin-

istrators easily manage VMs as they

migrate them across physical servers

during routine hardware maintenance or

balance server workloads for optimized

application performance and availability.

deploying Virtualized data

centers with dell serVers

Dell offers valuable data center

benefits in a powerful portfolio of Intel

processor–based rack servers, including

the Dell PowerEdge R900, PowerEdge

2900 III, PowerEdge 2950 III, and

PowerEdge 1950 III servers. Designed to

deliver enhanced performance, these

highly efficient rack servers optimize

space and productivity by utilizing virtu-

alization technologies.

These PowerEdge servers incorporate

Intel Xeon processor–based platforms

integrating Intel I/OAT. When used

together with Intel 10GbE server adapt-

ers, I/OAT helps enhance server I/O per-

formance and optimize bandwidth. These

capabilities combine to offer excellent

platforms for virtualization that help

streamline deployment across virtualized

infrastructures.

PowerEdge servers with Intel 10GbE

server adapters are supported by VMware

ESX 3.5 Update 1, which enables organi-

zations to enhance performance across

platforms, optimize network traffic man-

agement in virtualized servers, and effi-

ciently balance adapter workloads.

building a platform for

high-bandwidth networking

Escalating deployments of servers with

multi-core processors and running appli-

cations requiring ever-increasing band-

width demands—such as virtualization,

high-performance computing, database

clusters, and video on demand—are con-

tributing to the demand for 10GbE con-

nections in data center server racks. Intel

10GbE adapters enable a clear upgrade

and migration path to high-performance

networks. And with direct

attach copper twinaxial

cabling, platforms comprising

Intel 10GbE AF DA dual-port

server adapters, Cisco Nexus

5000 Series Switches, and

Dell PowerEdge rack servers

allow organizations to take

advantage of an ecosystem

tuned for high-bandwidth networking—

and at an attractive price point.

Shefali Chinni is the marketing manager

for future I/O virtualization technologies

and future Gigabit Ethernet silicon at Intel.

Before joining Intel, she held various prod-

uct marketing management and strategic

planning positions at Hewlett-Packard.

She has an M.B.A. in Marketing from

Osmania University.

Omar Sultan is the solution manager for

data center switching for the Data Center

Solutions team at Cisco Systems. Omar has

over 20 years of experience in the IT indus-

try and has been an active Cisco Certified

Internetwork Expert (CCIE) since 1994.

Nelson Stewart is a storage and network-

ing product manager for enterprise NICs

and blade server I/O, and has over 29 years

of experience in the IT industry. Before

joining Dell, he was a member of Hewlett-

Packard’s BladeSystem Business team.

Quick links

Intel Virtualization Technology:

www.intel.com/go/vtc

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches:

www.cisco.com/go/nexus5000

Intel adapters for Dell servers:

DELL.COM/SNP

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches help consolidate network environments into a single uniﬁed fabric (shown: Nexus 5020 switch)

Reprinted from

Dell Power Solutions,