You're reading from Implementing Cisco UCS Solutions Cisco Unified Computer System is a powerful solution for data centers that can raise efficiency and lower costs. This tutorial helps professionals realize its full potential through a practical, hands-on approach written by two Cisco experts.

Product type Paperback

Published in Dec 2013

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781782170662

Length 370 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Tools

Cisco UCS

Concepts

Servers

Table of Contents (14) Chapters

Preface

1. Cisco UCS Physical Architecture and Installing UCS Hardware FREE CHAPTER

2. Setting Up Lab Using Cisco UCS Emulator

3. Configuring Cisco UCS Using UCS Manager

4. Configuring LAN Connectivity

5. Configuring SAN Connectivity

6. Creating Identity and Resource Pools

7. Creating and Managing Service Profiles

8. Managing UCS through Routine and Advanced Management

9. Virtual Networking in Cisco UCS

10. Configuring Backup, Restore, and High Availability

11. Cisco UCS Failure Scenarios Testing

12. Third-party Application Integration

Index

Understanding the physical architecture of UCS

The Cisco UCS solution can be divided into the following three main categories:

The Cisco UCS FIs
The Cisco UCS blade servers
The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers

The Cisco UCS FIs

The Cisco UCS FIs provide network connectivity and management for the connected servers. The UCS FIs run the UCSM control software and consist of the following components:

6100 series and 6200 series FIs
Transceivers for network and storage connectivity
Expansion modules for both FI series
UCSM software

The Cisco UCS blade servers

The Cisco UCS blade servers require a mother chassis where these servers can be installed. The UCS blade server solution consists of the following components:

A blade server chassis, used for installing blades
B-series blade servers
IOM modules for connectivity to the FIs
Transceivers for connectivity to the FIs
Mezzanine cards for network and storage connectivity

The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers

The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers are standalone servers that can be installed and controlled individually. Cisco provides Fabric Extenders (FEXs) for the rack-mount servers. FEXs can be used to connect and manage rack-mount servers from FIs. The UCS rack-mount server solution consists of the following components:

UCS C-series rack-mount servers
FEXs for connecting rack-mount servers to FIs

In this chapter we will provide details about hardware options available for both blade servers and rack-mount servers. Most of the field deployments of UCS servers are based on blade servers. Therefore, our main focus will be on blade server configuration in this book. However, if proper connectivity is established between rack-mount servers and FIs, rack-mount servers can also be managed in the same fashion.

The following figure depicts the FIs running the UCSM software, a blade server chassis with IOM modules, and the main components of a blade server:

In this chapter, we will go into the details of various UCS components and will focus on their physical specifications and installation in the subsequent sections.

Note

The Cisco interactive 3D model for Cisco 5100 series chassis and blades is an excellent resource for exploring Cisco UCS components physically. It is also available for iPhone/iPad (search for UCS Tech Specs in the marketplace). More details on this are available at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/ps10265/ps10279/ucs_kaon_model_preso.html.